Cooled Ambition
by COMegamanexe
Summary: Damned fool, why can he not see that there are other ways to obtain his wish other than killing himself! We shall surely meet again, and when we do…I will show him the error of his mistakes, and what it cost me! Alternate UBW storyline. Chapter 16 is up!
1. Death of a Magus

**Important Note: To those who read this story, and find that the first chapter is remarkably similar to** "Endless Dream" by _Pata Hikari_, **it was completly coincidental that the beginning chapters for both of our works to be so strikingly similar. I thought of my concept, wrote it a week later and posted it on a different site and Pata contacted me about it. I went on to look at his story and I was shocked to see how similar it truly was. We have discussed things amongst ourselves, and as I am headed in an entirely different direction storywise that he has planned, he thankfully said there was no problem with my first chapter. Regardless, I definetly recommend that those who have not read** Endless Dream **to read it as well. With that said, please do not bring up plagiarism or any other similar complaints for the first chapter. If you do, redirect your blame to the infamous old Jewel Sorcerer for (soon to be) obvious reasons.**

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Fate/Stay Night, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

Note: The majority of the BGM I will be using for my fic will come from the Fate/Stay Night novel or Original Soundtrack. Therefore if you have the novel you only need load it up, go to the Music section in the Extras, and select that music while you are reading the particular section. For any other music, you will have to already have it yourself or find it if you want to hear anything behind it, or merely substitute something else for it in it's place from your own collection. I do not plan to change any of the music I have selected, but I will listen to suggestions if they are constructive.

**Cooled Ambition**

_A Fate/Stay Night Fan Fiction_

**Chapter 1: Death of a Magus**

_BGM: Keiyaku Fate/Stay Night the Animation Original Soundtrack_

The world was dark.

But than again, it had been so for the past twenty years.

Now, she would return to correct the mistakes she had ignored that caused this worldly plight, and in doing so, bring hope for the future.

That is all she desires. As a single tear runs from her fiery sapphire eyes, she realizes that was all he ever wanted as well.

_BGM: Whirlpool of Fate 2 Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

It had been twenty years since the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War - and the end of human civilization as it was known to be. The Servant who attained that foul object of destruction cared nothing for life, killing his Master at the end, and wishing for nothing else but the destruction of life. Thus the Grail granted his desire, spreading infinitely outward, obliterating all life in its path while he crowned himself King over the world once more.

There was no opposing the power of the Grail. All who tried fell before its power. The Association. The Church. They were the most powerful organizations in the world, yet they were naught but flies before the overwhelming power of the Grail. They were destroyed within days, leaving the remnants of humanity to fend for themselves.

Two magi, distraught with grief over all they had ignorantly allowed to pass, swore to do what they could to end the nightmare. One, a man, was seriously injured from the War, and he lasted ten more years before his life finally perished at the hands of the Golden King.

The other was a female who, desperate for a way to salvage her world, cried out desperately for aid. An elderly man answered, and offered her an apprenticeship. She accepted his offer, and for the next ten years she proceeded to learn as much as she could from her new master, knowing that she could never learn everything from him, as he had lived for centuries while she had barely twenty-seven years to her body and soul. She advanced startlingly swift, however, and became able to form a shadowed version of his signature sorcery.

Ten years to the day later, her master informed her that he had done all he would do for her, that the hopes of this world were on her shoulders. She thought back to her younger days, smiling bitterly at the circumstances that had occurred. This was not what she wanted out of life. This opportunity was what [u]he[/u] wanted, yet of course she knew such a wish was flawed. Only a fool who never knows happiness would dream of being a hero. But she knew that the downward spiral she had helped set in motion had to be closed, and merely nodded and bid her master farewell, setting out to confront the Golden Monstrosity.

_BGM: The Golden King Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

The battle was over shortly after it had begun. The magus was skewered, now looking more like a grotesque puppet than a human being. Her raven locks were disheveled and caked in crimson blood. Her hands, shoulders, breasts, stomach, pancreas, pelvis, thighs, shins, knees, and ankles all had weapons protruding from them, contorted at odd angles. The pain was excruciating, but she kept her icy eyes on the man in gold, standing before his throne with a naked blond woman on the ground beside him, her eyes glazed over. As the magus' gaze settled over the familiar form, her heart and right arm burned faintly. The woman had obviously been driven insane many years ago.

"Tut, tut. You never learned did you, young lady? True, I am mortal now, but I still have the powers of a Servant." He looked down upon her with a mocking gesture. "You, as a mere human, never had a chance. Still, I have grown...bored as of late. I knew the mind of the King of Knights would not survive the blessing of the Grail, but I never dreamed that the body it would give her would become so useless after only twenty short years." He glanced down in contempt and kicked at the unmoving form beside him, than turned back to the magus. "I shall allow you to live, and in return, you shall be my next possession." He licked his lips as he looked over her body.

She coughed up a mouthful of blood and spat it as far towards the Golden Knight as she could, than choked out a laugh. "My desire to live is not so strong as to relinquish my soul to a fool such as you. You may be a 'King', but you could never satisfy me." She challenged his integrity, daring him to make her coming death as swift as possible.

The King clucked his tongue as he took the bait, staring daggers at the magus as she screamed in agony. Wait, perhaps that was because there were new holes in her body, located in her feet, and one where her nose had previously been. "It seems you need to learn some manners before I let you near me. Do not speak unless spoken to, bitch!" He sneered as he raised his hand.

She knew this was it. She knew that she had pushed him too far and that he would kill her with another hail of Noble Phantasms when his arm fell. She was angry with herself, that she could not even correct the mistake that she had worked twenty years to repair! She let loose a primal growl from the depths of her soul and lowered her head, utterly defeated.

Do you wish to defeat that man?

_BGM: White Out Chaos;Head Original Soundtrack_

A voice resonated in the darkness of her shattered mind, and she instantly focused her will and looked upwards.

Do you wish for the power to defeat that man? You have attempted to aid us, so I shall aid you if you wish for it.

_No_, her voice said to herself. _This cannot be happening!_ She wasn't supposed to become this! She didn't want this! This was what happened to him and it frightened her to her very core!

However, she had already known that it was likely to turn out this way. She glanced at the dual images of herself in her mind. One of them was skewered by numerous weapons, her current death, devoid of meaning. The other was walking an invisible pathway towards an unknown destination, full of the illusion of hope. She knew which path he had chosen. Although she did not want to from the depths of her soul, she chose the same path.

Do you wish for our aid? The voice asked again.

She struggled to speak and softly choked out her answer along with another mouthful of blood. "Yes."

Time froze, and the weapons skewering the magus simply faded away. Her wounds closed up, the damaged muscles and tissue repaired themselves, her spilt blood renewed. The crest symbolizing her family's magic impossibly began to grow. It pained her terribly at first, just as it had in the past when it was slowly transplanted. Soon, the pain stopped, yet the crest continued to grow until it had covered the whole of her left arm.

Suddenly, the voice of her master echoed sadly in her head.

"Know that I did not want this for you. However, I knew this would happen as you had not yet gained what you needed to fully master the Second Sorcery. Truthfully, you still cannot master it. However, your decision has granted you the raw power and mental understanding to learn how to construct, shape, and use something that can do so in a limited fashion. Thus, I shall depart my final lesson to you, apprentice. You have been a grand pupil, perhaps the best in a long time. For this I shall miss and grieve for the endless existence ahead of you."

No emotion showed on her face as she simply replied, "Thank you, master. Farewell."

_BGM: On the Precipice of Defeat - TV Animation BLEACH Original Soundtrack 1_ - _.com/watch?v=VLB2o3VYcO0_

Time resumed, with her now-healed body standing before the throne of the Golden King once more. At first, one could say that nothing other than her body had changed, yet anyone able to sense magic would note the astronomical increase in the amount of mana that radiated from her now.

The King flinched. "What the...what the hell just happened to you?!?" He warily shouted as apprehension began to dawn on him.

She merely smiled and said, "Nothing within the pitiful boundaries of your mind would allow you to understand. Just know that you will die here, Gilgamesh!" Her right arm rose and hung in the air for a few seconds before applying the knowledge she had learned merely seconds ago and spoke just three words.

"**Jeweled Sword Zelretch!**"

A small sword formed in her hand. The grip and guard itself were simple, yet the blade was exceedingly beautiful, seemingly formed from pure crystal. Nothing radiated from the sword itself, yet it hid an ability that vastly outclassed almost anything that could stand against it, including the so-called 'Holy Grail'.

_BGM: THIS ILLUSION (Instrumental) Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

The Golden King could feel it; what that woman had just called would undoubtedly destroy him if he didn't act fast. He reached behind him and pulled out the one weapon that had never failed him. A weapon with a golden hilt similar to the King was pulled from the Gate, its darkened blade decorated with crimson etchings looked anything but the unimaginable force of destruction it truly was.

"I don't know what you are planning to do with that simple piece of trash, but don't think you'll be able to hit me with it!" He roared with fervor, and the darkened blade, Ea, began to awaken. The three equal components of the blade slowly began to revolve, approaching the speed in which, when unleashed, would release a torrent of destruction capable of scarring the land.

The magus simply waited, knowing that anything the Golden King could throw at her would be useless, including Ea. She simply held her ground and continued to smirk devilishly at her hated enemy.

The Golden Knight, upon seeing this, snapped. "I've had enough of your disrespectful appearance! **Enuma-!**"

The magus quickly began to concentrate, and the sword began to glow with a prismatic light, the surface of the blade shifting from red to orange, to yellow, to green, blue, violet, white, and back again to red as the process continued to repeat itself an infinite number of times each second.

"**Elish!**" The Golden King roared, and the torrent of destruction was released from Ea, barreling unmercifully towards the waiting magus.

The torrent never even got close to her.

A wave of light infinitely more powerful than Ea was released with one stroke from the Jeweled Sword, and it swallowed the torrent of destruction and raced onward towards the Golden King like a vengeful phoenix, hungry to end his existence.

The Golden King was shocked, knowing now that his end had finally come. He was determined, however, to not go quietly. He laughed manically at her as his death approached. "Splendid! To think that _you_ could kill _me_! But you shall not live to witness what happens to this world in my wake!" With his last command, he pulled a blood red lance from the Gate, spoke its name, and was swallowed by the wave of light almost immediately afterward.

_BGM: Keiyaku Fate/Stay Night the Animation Original Soundtrack_

The Golden Kings' existence was erased from the world, but his final decree would be absolute. The magus fell backwards onto the cold stone floor, a bloody red lance emerging from her chest with her heart skewered upon it.

Thus, the magus - no, the hero known as Tohsaka Rin passed from this world, her twenty year goal finally accomplished.

**End Chapter 1**

Chapter 2 Preview

**Darkened Memories; Clear Sky**

A Hero returns, called forth by memories of the past.  
A hidden truth is revealed, and measures are taken against it.  
Events unfold, both familiar and unknown.  
An agile beast confronts the insufferable giant.


	2. Darkened Memories Clear Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Fate/Stay Night, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Cooled Ambition**

_A __Fate/Stay Night__ Fan Fiction_

**Chapter 2: Darkened Memories; Clear Sky**

_BGM: Quiet Voice Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

A small dimension outside of space and time. That is what is known about this place, where heroes reside, those made from the dreams of the people around them during the time of their life. Yet this place is also the anchor for those who became powerful through their own efforts and sacrifices. The world offered them a swift solution to a near impossible situation, and in exchange forever bound their souls in servitude to itself. They have been called forth in an endless cycle throughout the various time streams to nullify phenomenon that would threaten the world.

_How many times must I repeat this damned cycle?_ One of those 'Counter-Guardians' thought to herself as she returned once again. She knew that he had experienced this same cycle of death and destruction many more times than she had, yet she was already bursting with frustration over the senselessness of it all. Worst of all was the fact that she knew she would never escape this fate, yet neither would he. _Damned fool, why can he not see that there are other ways to obtain his wish other than killing himself?!_ She thought angrily. _I'll have to show him myself. We shall surely meet again, and when we do will show him the error of his mistakes, and what it cost me!_

Yet it would be an agonizingly long wait before the opportunity she hoped for would come to pass, and so for an eternity she waited in servitude to a hated master.

_BGM: Doubt Chaos;Head Original Soundtrack_

She felt the call once again, and proceeded to answer once more. Yet she noticed a subtle change in the calling, and began to wonder what this would mean for her.

She stepped out of the bright tunnel and into a darkened room. The stench and low lighting, coupled with the sound of wriggling vermin all around indicated it was somewhere underground. As her pale blue eyes adjusted to the darkness, two figures came into view.

One of them was a short old man bent over even further, clutching a walking stick. After a second look she saw that he was so old his skin was hanging off his bones, making it easy to see the outline of his skull. He coughed, and a wretched hacking voice resounded throughout the room. Her mind flashed as she remembered who he was, having seen him before the War her father participated in. His name was Zouken, the patriarch of the Matou. She was a little surprised that the decrepit old man was still alive, as she had no knowledge of the fact, but that quickly passed.

The other figure was the one whom she expected to see, a young girl with strikingly vivid violet eyes and matching hair with a single red ribbon decorating it was a few feet ahead, glancing up at her in awe. Sakura, her dear sister whom their father had given to Zouken shortly before the Fourth War began to honor a defunct non-aggression pact between the two families. Her eyes widened in surprise, but quickly settled back down in acceptance. _It was absurd from the beginning to think that Shinji had been the one to summon a Servant; He had no Magic Circuits whatsoever. Of course it had been Sakura_, she thought to herself as a smile crept across her lips. The only reason why she could not have been the one given to the Matou was because she had the fortunate luck to have been born first, and had received the Magic Crest.

Sakura stepped back a little in awe at the woman before her. She had wanted no part of this War her grandfather had told her of since she had come to the Matou home. She did not want to fight, and had already decided to let her brother have her rights as a Master, as he desperately wanted to become one as he had no way to experience magic for himself. _All I want is to stay with Sempai_, she thought sadly to herself. However, now that she had actually summoned a Servant, she felt that it would be somehow wrong not to participate herself. Not for her sake, but for the one she had summoned. _She's... really beautiful_, Sakura noted as she looked over her Servants' features. She was a woman of average build, with long flowing dark hair and piercing blue eyes that radiated a cooled gentleness. She wore an extravagant red dress decorated with what seemed to be rhinestones with a matching dark skirt that was extremely short. Her legs were a firm cream, with ruby socks that ended just above her knees, covered by, oddly, ivory heels. A robe of the darkest midnight enveloped her well toned and shapely body, with the inner folds a shade of crimson. She had an above-average bust, but it did not stand out in concept with her dress. Sakura was surprised to see that the woman was Japanese, and began to ponder what era she had lived in.

The magus' smile widened as she realized that things had obviously turned out quite differently than before: She had been summoned into this Holy Grail War, as Caster, and to the Master that had previously summoned Rider. She wondered for a second how it had happened, and as she search for an answer, her gaze drifted to Sakura's face again, and quickly realized the key element. The hair ribbon. It wasn't a total surprise to her; it had happened when she summoned Archer because her fathers' gem gave a connection between them, and it had happened again now with the ribbon she had given Sakura. _Thankfully I kept the matching ribbon as a symbol between sisters, even if I don't use it anymore._ She sighed inwardly. Things will be a bit different this time. _No doubt Saber, Archer, Berserker and Lancer will still be the same, and will have the same Masters. However, with a different Caster going to Rider's Master, it makes me wonder who will summon Rider and Assassin, and which heroic spirits they shall be?_ Remembering the circumstances concerning Assassin's previous summoning, her smiled broadened even further as she realized she could just as easily perform the same deed. _I also won't fail as the previous Caster did_, she noted to herself. _I still have two Command Spells leftover from the War, and can therefore summon a Servant properly, unlike that idiot witch._ She remembered that Assassin had been a fictitious hero, and as a result could not be sustained as a normal Servant and was chained to the land he had been summoned at. Her mind tugged at her for a second, urging her to remember something important. Her smile turned into a grimace of hatred as she remembered who else was fated to be here, the memory of the Golden Knight who destroyed her world still fresh in her mind. _He'll probably destroy this world as well, if things turn out the same as before_, she worriedly told herself, than regained her composure after noticing the frightened look on Sakura's face. _Well, that won't happen since I'm here. I refuse to let it happen._

The magus locked eyes with Sakura and bowed.

"Greetings, Master", she said in a crisp, battle-weathered voice.

Sakura snapped her gaze away from the beautiful Servant in front of her and focused again on her pale blue eyes.

"Um, h-hello Servant-san. W-which Servant are you?"

_BGM: Wandering Shadow Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Servant Caster, Master." She smirked to herself. Her Master really was Sakura; No one else would greet others so awkwardly. Another hacking cough resounded through the room, and she turned her attention to the old man a little ways away near what she could now distinguish as a flight of stairs, meaning this room was actually a basement. _Most likely that of the Matou mansion_, she thought.

"Caster, eh? This is indeed fortunate. For the past two Wars we have only been able to summon forth Assassin. Well done, Sakura. You've made me proud. You and Caster can simply stay here for the remainder of the War; Our home will make a fine territory for her to set up here," the old man smiled, secretly glad that they would have a better chance than last time.

Caster frowned, both inwardly and outwardly. She had no intention of setting up her territory here. She did not know why, but before she had been taken away to this mansion, Sakura always smiled. Yet ever since, every time she had seen Sakura, she never smiled. The one exception was whenever she was with Shirou. Something had to have happened to Sakura here, and she would not allow such a painful memory to stay close to her sister. _I'll find out what it is later_.

"Actually, I think my Master and I will decide where to set up my territory. I assume that since you seem to wish for my Masters' victory you would not object to us finding the best possible location from where I can do my work." She said so with a smile, confident that her words would push the correct buttons.

Zoukens' face twisted in anger, having realized that Caster was correct. "I see. You are right of course... Sakura, show Caster here our lovely city. Perhaps after she has seen everything here she shall realize that her best chance of victory lays here and nowhere else," He muttered as he headed up the stairs. _I'll have to be cautious this time with such a rebellious Servant_, he thought as he hobbled up the stairs, the Command Spell on his arm burning as he plotted on what he would have to do.

Caster watched the small old man leave, than turned back to Sakura.

"Shall we go, Master?"

She knew of course that the ley lines at this point in time were set up in just two favorable locations: the Tohsaka mansion, and the Ryudou Temple. Since her home would not be an option for obvious reasons, the Temple would be the most likely place to head to. _It would be ideal to set up shop there_, she thought. _Caster may have used despicable tactics, but she had the right idea. Not only will my magic be superior, but that Boundary Field is always helpful. Also, that damned bastard will eventually go there._ She grimaced at this last thought, yet she also knew that such thoughts were trivial anyhow, as Sakura would probably be uncomfortable staying there. That left a different location to make her territory in, one without a favorable ley line, but she was still familiar with the area. However, that place would prove to be problematic after tonight, when the King of Knights would also be residing there. _It's something that I'll just have to deal with_, she shrugged inwardly.

"Shall we go, Master?"

Sakura stood there shocked, having watched Caster quickly shoot down her grandfathers' wishes like that, and he didn't even argue back. _Amazing! I wish I was able to resist him like that..._ Her initial admiration quickly turned to fear of what her grandfather might do to her later as punishment.

"Master?"

Sakura quickly snapped out of the dark thoughts she had descended into and responded to Casters' question.

"Yes, I will show you around Fuyuki City, Caster-san."

She felt her hand drawn towards the precious ribbon in her hair. _Perhaps this will be a good experience for me. I'm sorry, Nii-san_, she apologized to her unfortunate brother, and together she and Caster walked up the stairs away from the foul cavern, and out into the sun.

_BGM: Kumo wa Somari Yuku Fate/Stay Night the Animation Original Soundtrack_

It was noon when the two left the mansion; Sakura had been called home from school at Zouken's request, stating family business concerning her to be the reason, yet the truth was the old man had wanted her to summon her Servant for the Grail War. Caster had planned to merely act interested as Sakura showed her around the city she had lived in all her life, yet she could not hide the emotions the nostalgic memories arose in her, and she silently wept as they walked around together. It was the first time she had looked upon the city as it had been; unspoiled and intact, since Gilgamesh had obtained the Grail.

Sakura stopped as she noticed Caster's distraught state.

"Caster! What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Caster let out a gasp of surprise and quickly composed herself.

"I-it's nothing. I was just remembering the city I had grown up in"

"I noticed you seem to be Japanese, what city did you grow up in?" Sakura asked, still concerned.

Caster flinched. _Damn, Sakura is sharp, more so than I remember._

"It's a small town that you've probably never heard of, and it's not important to us right now. Let us continue our exploration of the area, Master."

Caster started walking again, but Sakura asked another question.

"Caster? I forgot to ask you this before, but since Caster is only your Servant class name, what is your real name?"

Caster stopped short again, and without turning around coldly stated,  
"Master, neither my name nor my origins are important for this War. Knowing them will not help us in any way, so I ask that you forget about this matter, and please do not bring it up again."

Sakura cringed at the sudden change in Caster's attitude, and felt compelled not to argue anymore.

"I understand, Caster. Than I have just one other request. Please, refer to me by name, not as Master. I don't like that title, even if I am one."

Caster smiled at Sakura's simple request. _She may be sharp, but she's still simple as well._

"As you wish, Sakura. Let us continue our exploration now."

Caster began to briskly walk away, leaving Sakura to hurry after her.

_BGM: Shibuya Chaos;Head Original Soundtrack_

After showing her around Miyama City, Sakura took Caster to Shinto as well. By the time they returned to the crossroads it was late afternoon and the sun had begun to set.

Caster noticed that Sakura had shown her the part of town where Shirou's home lay, and decided to bring it up with a believable lie.

"Master, we have not explored this section of the city. I would feel more at ease if my knowledge of the area was as complete as possible before we return to your home."

Sakura bit her lip, not wanting to be near Sempai's house right now. _I don't want to get him involved in this. There is no reason for him to be. Plus, I told him that I wouldn't be around until Monday after this mornings' breakfast._ But, she didn't want to upset Caster either. _She's scary; she knows how to manipulate people into getting exactly what she wants. She reminds me of Tohsaka-Sempai in a way._ She pondered a bit more. _Well, it's not like we'll be stopping by for dinner, so as long as we don't approach Sempai's house everything should be fine_, and nodded in approval to Caster.

"Ahahaha, I forgot about that section. We'll head there now than. Afterwards we'll head back home."

Sakura stated, and they walked towards the older section of the city.

When they arrived at Shirou's house, Caster paused in front of it. Sakura apprehensively asked her what was wrong.

"There is... something here. I think this location would be a prime spot for me to set up my territory," she lied. "It doesn't seem the master of this house is home, so should we wait for him and kill him when he arrives?"

Sakura's face paled at Caster's suggestion. The fear in the back of her mind raced to the front, and she panicked to respond.

"No! Absolutely not! I... I don't want to do something like that, Caster." Sakura replied with her head down.

"Why not, Master? As a fellow magus you should know that sacrifices are necessary at times to accomplish a goal, especially for one such as the Holy Grail."

Caster smiled slightly at Sakura's reaction. She had wanted to tease her for a long time for liking Shirou, but didn't press any further though, for to do such a thing was truly juvenile.

She had always teased those she was close to when she was younger and more foolish, but the time after the Grail War had changed her. She could not afford to hold onto such trivialities. For one, there wasn't anyone she could talk to other than her Master. Gilgamesh and the Grail had seen to that. _I truly miss those days. I probably could do them again here, but I'll leave that to this timelines' Rin. Maybe she'll be able to keep doing so afterwards if I stop the Grail._ She laughed to herself in her mind, realizing that in many ways she had become just like Shirou and Saber. The only difference was that she had experienced happiness, and had it painfully taken away from her. She didn't want anyone to have to suffer through such a painful experience anymore, and recognized that her first test here would be her sister. She shook herself mentally and spoke with a reassuring voice.

"It's alright, Sakura. I have no intention of involving lonesome innocents in this struggle anyway. I may be a magus, but I am also a Servant, and I will abide by my Master's orders. I can simply erase the memories of whoever lives here during the War."

Sakura felt relieved, but not completely. _She's right, but I would still be endangering Sempai this way_, she thought quietly before she noticed something. _Caster seems to know that Sempai lives here alone, even though I never mentioned Sempai. l'll have to ask her more about it after we get home._

After they had returned to the mansion, Caster decided that it was time to tend to another matter: to find out what had happened to Sakura after she had been taken in by Zouken. She had already guessed that whatever it was had to be the cause for her hair and eye color changing to violet, since before than Sakura had also had the same blue eyes and dark hair she had. Caster recited a spell, and Sakura began to feel sleepy.

"Uhh, Caster, I'm feeling very tired. Would you mind if we talked about where to set up your territory tomorrow?"She turned her blurry vision to the dark-robed Servant.

"Of course, Master. One night won't make a difference, and your rest and well-being is more important anyhow." Caster hid a smile before continuing.

"I can also place a small charm on you to make your sleep more restful if you wish, Master."

Sakura was too tired to argue.

"That's alright with me, Caster. Good night, and... I'm sorry, Nii-san," she managed to finish before collapsing on the bed, sound asleep.

Caster had jumped about a foot in the air before she realized that Sakura had spoken aloud to Shinji and not her, and let out a sigh of relief. After assuring that Sakura was asleep by using the spell she had offered to use, Caster used a mind-link spell to connect her mind with Sakura's, and searched for the starting point: When she has given Sakura her hair ribbon. At first, everything was normal; Sakura was cheerful in her room, she got along with Shinji well, and even Zouken seemed to treat her well.

_BGM: Fear Chaos;Head Original Soundtrack_

That all changed two months after she had arrived.

Caster was horrified as she heard Zouken speak of the process that would change Sakura's body to suit the Matou magic. She watched as her sister was thrown to the vermin that existed in that hellhole of a basement, which she came to see were worms that fed on Sakura's mana and physical energy. She grew outraged when she learned of the lustful side-effects the worms feeding had left on her, and became absolutely lived when Shinji had gladly accepted the job of 'maintaining' her sanity by sating her sexual appetite. Caster than noticed that she was crying, and quickly severed the connection between them. Two days. _She_ had broken after only two days of this treatment, yet Sakura had endured more than eleven years of this. She quickly silenced a corner of the room and wept loudly within it, continuously apologizing to Sakura for being ignorant of her situation and being unable to protect her.

After a few minutes, she calmed down and resolved that Sakura would never come to this house again after tomorrow morning. After having witnessed Sakura's memories, Caster quickly packed only a few changes of clothes for Sakura into the small suitcase she had arrived. Suddenly, she noticed that someone else had arrived at the mansion. After a quick mental search, her face scrunched up in a primal fury: Shinji had just returned home.

_BGM: Wandering Shadow Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Caster composed herself and left the room, stopping right outside to place protective wards of detection, along with a boundary field to prevent anyone from entering Sakura's room without her knowing and left to find Shinji, fully prepared to kill him.

Matou Shinji had just arrived home, having hung out with his girlfriends after passing the maintenance of the dojo onto that fool Emiya. He knew that Sakura had stayed home from school today to summon a Servant for the Holy Grail War, and that fact tore at his stomach, causing his irritation to deepen. _Maybe I'll take my frustration out on her. That little whore always begs for it, even when she insists she doesn't want it!_ Shinji was so lost in his heated thoughts that he didn't notice the presence of death behind him until it spoke to him.

"You know, you shouldn't speak such things where anyone can hear them, let alone such ill thoughts about my Master," a cold voice whispered in his ear.

Shinji jumped out of his chair with a start, and turned around to see a beautiful form before him. He was so entranced, he did not notice they look of pure fury on her face matched the murderous intent he was feeling.

"Huh? Who are you? What is a beautiful lady such as yourself doing at my house so late?"

Yet Caster merely grinned devilishly and replied calmly.

"I am the Servant whom my Master called for this War, Caster. Now, please enlighten me. What were you planning to do to Sakura again, Matou-kun?" Her grin turned into a small smile, which did little to hide the murderous intent flowing from her.

Shinji finally noticed that the womans' attitude towards him, and while he instinctively knew he shouldn't repeat his thoughts, he was more confused by what she had said. _Did I really say that out loud?_ He wondered. He definitely felt that lying to her further would only cause his death, yet he couldn't see how Caster would let him live if he told the truth, and so he ended up stuttering.

After about a minute of this, Caster let out a frustrated yell.

"**Enough!** Actually, I don't care about your answer. I already know exactly what has happened to Sakura for the past eleven years. Everything that your grandfather has done, everything she had to experience. Everything _you_ did to her." She put enough emphasis on the last sentence to imply that she did not plan to show Shinji any mercy.

"I will say this only once, so listen well, Matou-kun. Tomorrow morning, Sakura and I will leave this house. She will not be coming back here, even after the end of this War. If you ever attempt to touch her again, the seal that I have put on her will activate, and for the rest of your life you will relive her memories of the past eleven years from her perspective. Do I make myself clear, Matou-kun?"

She secretly hoped for Shinji to defy her as she continued to smile. Of course, she was only bluffing; she hadn't placed such a seal on Sakura yet, and she wouldn't without her consent. But oh, did she want to.

Shinji gulped at the woman's - Caster's - words. He began to despise her intensely. _Who the hell does she think she is, ordering me around like this! I'm a fucking Matou!_ He started to spit out his thoughts, but when he met her eyes he felt as if he were engulfed in a cold blue fire that obliterated the remnants of his courage, and he crumpled to the floor, only managing to nod in agreement with Caster's ultimatum.

"I am glad we understand each other, Matou-kun. You will share my words with your grandfather after we have left. His worms will be gone before the night is over, so he will be aware that I know about his tricks, but share my last message with him. The condition that applies to you will also apply to both him and his worms."

With those words Caster left Matou Shinji in a daze before he staggered back to his room like a lost child, staring blankly at the wall for the rest of the night, hugging a pillow and shaking madly.

Caster wanted to cleanse the foul worms from Sakura immediately, yet it was almost time for the first big event of the War to happen, and after checking that the wards sealing Sakura's room were secure, she rushed off into the night, and swiftly headed for the school.

When she arrived she immediately searched for any other Servant's in the area, and was pleased to notice the two familiar signatures of Archer and Lancer in the schoolyard. She turned herself into a spirit and levitated to the school roof to observe the battle between the two knights.

_BGM: Clashing Souls Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

As sparks clashed between the twin swords and the all too familiar blood red spear, Caster realized that while she had seen this fight before, the two Servants' attacks, counters, parry, counter parry, thrusts and sweeps were just as captivating as before. She bet that she would never tire of watching the two trade blows with each other, yet she realized that Lancer would soon tire of Archer's defense, just as he had before.

Just as she thought this, Lancer jumped back, and after the an exchange of words, she felt Lancer concentrate mana into his lance. She never did figure out his identity during the war, but during her apprenticeship under Zelretch she researched him and discovered his true name: Cu Chulainn, Ireland's demon child of light. A contrasting title, as he was a hero in the eyes of his allies and a demonic beast that displayed no mercy to his enemies. Both a practitioner of runic magic and an superior warrior with a spear, he preferred his lance but was not above using the runes to win. The lance, Gae Bolg, was said to always pierce its targets' heart, no matter how it was thrust. This of course was probably false, yet with the sight before her eyes, Caster did not doubt the power of legend behind the lance, and knew to be wary of it.

As expected, before Lancer thrust Gae Bolg at Archer, he stopped and turned towards a tree, where Emiya Shirou had been crouched, silently watching the battle in awe. Caster clucked her tongue again at Shirou's stupidity, and quickly made her way into the school, erasing her presence completely, as she calmly waited inside the classroom she knew Shirou would end up in front of before Lancer would pierce him.

Sure enough, Caster soon heard Shirou's gasps for breath echo out in the hall. Than the voice of Lancer, congratulating him for running this far, before she heard the sound of a person falling echo throughout the hall. She knew what had just happened, and while part of her urged for her to rush out and help Shirou, she continued to wait for Archer. Caster wondered about when she should confront Archer, for she knew that the moment she did so that many things she had known about the War would change. Than she heard a familiar voice say something that horrified her. She gasped as she realized what Archer was about to do. _Forget my worries! Archer is going to doom this timeline now if I don't do something!_ Throwing caution to the wind, she materialized as she ran out of the classroom.

"Archer, stop!"

She yelled out at the crimson avatar of death over the boy's corpse with her right hand out.

_BGM: Into the Night Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Her hand burned intensely, yet she smiled as she realized that her Command Spells still worked on Archer. _Perfect! This leaves me with only one though. I'll have to save it for an opportune time._

Archer grunted in pain as he bent over Emiya Shirou with Kansho and Bakuya bearing down on him. Yet he could not finish the job. _Why the hell can't I move?!? Rin hasn't caught up yet, so this can't be a Command Spell, so what the hell!! I fell at the Temple last time, so I resolved to finish this before Emiya Shirou even became a Master, dammit!_ Archer yelled in frustration, both internally and externally. He turned his eyes up to search for the voice that had yelled for him to stop, and his hawk-like eyes locked onto the form of a robed woman in front of him.

"What the hell, a mage? Who are you? You look like..." and Archer trailed off as he shook off the image forming in his head. _No, that's impossible_, he told himself.

Caster merely smiled and began to reply.

"I don't know what you were about to say, but I am no one you should recognize, Archer. I will share something with you, however. If you have a brain at all, you should realize that I am the one who stopped you from finishing off that kid. There's no reason to do such as thing to an innocent whose fate is already determined; it sullies the title we are given as heroic spirits to do something as despicable as this. Yes, I am also a Servant," Archers' eyes narrowed at Caster, who merely continued.

"Caster, to be precise."

_Caster?!_ Archer felt like he had been smashed by Berserkers' axe-like sword. _What the hell is going on here, Caster should be at Ryudou Temple!_ His mind flashed as he thought back to the many previous wars, where Caster had always been that purple witch who sucked the city inhabitants's life force. _I did think that it was odd when I saw that there were no gas leak incidents this time, but I never dreamed that there would be a completely new Servant!_ Archer continued to stare at Caster, who met his stare until she felt Rin's presence running towards them.

"Well, I would like to stay and talk with you a little more, Archer, but I'm afraid that I don't have to time right now with your Master coming. Since you're a hopeless idiot, I'll share something special with you. I have no intention of setting up my territory at the Ryudou Temple, nor have I summoned Assassin. Do you understand?" Archer involuntarily let out a cry of surprise.

"How do you know about the Grail Wars' events?! Who are you... no, why are you here, Caster?!"

"Why, the same reason you are, Archer: To win this War."Caster paused to glare at Archer before continuing.  
"Although, I'm also here to prevent some fool from becoming a hero." _Checkmate._

Archer was so stunned he dropped his swords. Fortunately for Caster, he really was stupid; her words were so blunt that he should have easily grasped her identity, but he had not.

"H-how do you know about-,"

"You don't need to know how I know. At least, not yet. We will meet again, Archer. Perhaps by than you'll have used your brain to piece the clues together yourself!" Caster exclaimed before dematerializing, leaving to rejoin Sakura.

Archer stood frozen in confusion as Rin ran up, looking over Shirou's near dead corpse.

"After him, Archer. Lancer will probably be headed back to his Master. This won't be worth it unless we find out who that is," she softly ordered her Servant, ignorant of why he wasn't moving while glancing over Shirou's body.

Archer quickly recovered and without saying a word, left to try and pick up Lancer's trail, his mind still hazy from Caster's disturbing words.

_BGM: Midnight Interval Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Caster sighed to herself as she glided back to the mansion, yet paused as she remembered something. _If everything else goes well, than Saber should be summoned soon enough,_ she thought. _I'd better make sure everything else flows the way it should for tonight though, since Archer already tried to break things earlier, even if he's still bound by both my and Rin's Command Spells._ She chuckled to herself. _Heh, it's odd to refer to myself by name like this, but it can't be helped._

So Caster masked her presence again as she made her way to Shirou's home, waiting for him to stumble back. After he had arrived, she continued to watch over him, interested in finding out how he had managed to summon Saber. She flinched when she sensed Lancers' arrival, but the spells masking her presence did their job as Lancer did not appear to notice her. She watched with interest and amusement at Shirou's pathetic attempts to defend himself, yet was amazed once Saber had been summoned. She fought Lancer off, even surviving a near-direct hit from Gae Bolg! Saber immediately raced to encounter Archer and Rin, who had just arrived as well.

Caster left shortly after Shirou had stopped Saber from slashing Archer with a Command Spell. _I was always amazed that he had managed to summon a Servant, let alone Saber, but now I know how it happened. He always was such an idiot! Still, I wonder why she just appeared like that. I've never heard of an accidental Servant summoning before._

_BGM: Footsteps of Destruction Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Her business complete, she truly headed for the mansion this time, as it was past midnight already. However, as she did so, she ran into a sight she did not expect: A few hundred yards away from the mansion, she caught sight of a figure encased in cobalt armor. Lancer. He was staring fiercely at a small figure, who Caster easily remembered.

"Ilyasviel..." Caster murmured aloud.

As she watched silently, the remaining Servant whom had not been seen thus far tonight materialized in front of the small white child. A black giant, Berserker.

End Chapter 2

Chapter 3 Preview

**Fatal Attraction**

Swift attacks, followed by a swift retreat.

The Masters are known; The Sixth is summoned,

A dreamer dreams a nightmare of her past.  
The showdown between the magus and red knight is fast approaching.


	3. Fatal Attraction

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Fate/Stay Night, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. The summoning spell verses are from Mirrormoons' translation of Fate/Stay Night.

**Chapter 3: Fatal Attraction**

_BGM: Footsteps of Destruction - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

A blue form raced away from the old Japanese house, irritated at his cowardly Masters' orders. The previous battle against Saber made it the second out of six his Master would force him to participate in, and in all of them he would not be able to go all out, due to the damned Command Spell his Master used to make the order. _Man, I got screwed in this War big time. First, my original Master gets killed by that damn priest, who in return became my Master after stealing her Command Spells, than he uses them to give me shitty orders like this!_ Lancer cursed at his foul luck as he raced back towards the church. _Yet that was only the beginning. First I find Archer, yet he doesn't even fight like one. What fucking Archer uses swords, let alone swords that he can continuously create when they are knocked away?! As if that wasn't humiliating enough, I couldn't land a damn hit on him!!_ Lancer continued to complain at how unfair his situation had become. Yet, it wasn't all bad news. _At least the fight with Saber was a good one, even if she found out my identity. She must have been a great hero to redirect my Gae Bolg like that. I really hope she's still around after I complete this damn scouting tactic; an all out battle with her might be enough to make me forget about this crap._ He than recalled something that he would not have noticed had his detection rune not been activated. _Still, what was Assassin doing there? If that kids' Servant is Saber, than why was he just watching like that? He could have easily killed him long before I could._

Suddenly, Lancer felt someone's gaze focused on him. He quickly glanced around, and saw a small girl with snowy hair wrapped in a violet coat a few hundred meters away, her red eyes locked on him. Lancers' eyes narrowed as he quickly realized that she was not a normal child. Whether she was a Servant or a Master he was not sure, but he knew he had found his third target. _I'll have to be careful this time. This is my third battle tonight, and I've already had to use Gae Bolg in both of the previous fights,_ Lancer noted to himself as he stalked towards the girl, stopping just a few feet away from her.

_BGM: Breach - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Yo, kids shouldn't be out this late at night, you know. It can be quite... dangerous," Lancer called out to the small girl, whose red eyes were clearly visible in the night air.

"Ah! Another Servant! Good evening, Lancer," the small child politely curtsied before Lancer.

_What the hell is wrong with this brat?_ Lancer wondered. With what knowledge he had of the modern world from his Masters and the summoning process he knew that such a tradition had long since died off.

"So, who are you, kid?"

The child huffed. "You're rude, but I'll tell you anyway. My name is Ilyasviel von Einzbern."

"Ah, so you're the infamous Einzbern." Lancer remembered what his Master had told him about the Einzbern family, that they always had a participant in the previous Wars. Than he recalled what the girl had first said. "Oy, how did you know I was Lancer," he questioned the small form in front of him, his eyes narrowing into slits. He had not shown Gae Bolg, yet she had known what Servant he was.

"Hmm, how should I say this?" The small child seemed to be thinking, her forefinger resting on her lips. "It's simple, really. Onii-chan seems to like swords, so he'll have called Saber. Rin seems to have ended up with Archer. Rider and Assassin haven't been called yet, and you don't look like Caster with that armor, so it's simple, really." As she told this, a towering dark figure appeared behind her, engulfing the moon behind them.

"Oh, this is my Servant, Berserker," Ilyasviel introduced the enormous Servant. "You may have the first attack, Lancer. After all, I am a proper lady, and bugs should be allowed to flail about before they're squashed."

Lancer took a quick look over the massive form of Berserker before crouching down into his preferred position of attack, Gae Bolg forming in his hands. _Shit, this looks to be more troublesome than I asked for, but it can't be helped._

"Kheh, from the looks of things, this should be entertaining, but I'll make you regret allowing me to move first!" When Berserker didn't answer, he added, "Oh yeah, since you're Berserker you can't speak. That's a shame." With that, Lancer rushed forward at bestial speed, becoming a blue blur as he thrust his deadly lance at the opponents' vital points in a skillful rhythm.

**CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!**

"Ahhh!" Lancer jumped back in amazement and pain. Berserker had taken all four of the attacks he had thrust to his throat, heart, collarbone and forehead, yet none of them had even broken the giants' skin. Also, the backlash caused by the attacks to Berserkers' body had caused his own arms to nearly drop his lance. It was true that he wasn't at one hundred percent after fighting Saber and Archer, but still, this was too abnormal! _What the hell, is this guy's body made out of steel? My attacks should have spilled at least_ some _blood._ As Lancer wondered what to do, the small child spoke.

"Ah, you really are a weakling. Weaklings bore me! Normally I'd leave you alone, but since you're a Servant, I guess I'll have to kill you in order to win. Finish him, Berserker!" She said in a disinterested voice.

**"-----------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

The giant let loose a howl of fury befitting his class as he leapt towards Lancer at an impressive speed, considering his gigantic body.

"Kheh!" Lancer only managed to let out a grunt of irritation before he quickly leapt away from the oncoming black death, its' weapon swung so swiftly all that could be seen was a grey blur. A huge axe-like sword shattered the ground beneath where he had been standing a second ago.

_Shit! I can't trade blows with this guy, let alone take any! If I'm foolish enough to do so than I'm dead!_ Lancer stood his ground as he tried to think of a strategy to attack the seemingly impervious Servant. _If I use Gae Bolg, than I'd probably be able to kill him, yet that damned priest only wants me to check the other Servant's fighting abilities for now, and I've certainly had enough of this guy._ He pondered a second more before he growled, realizing that his only option was to retreat for now. As he prepared to flee, one of his runes, more specifically his rune of detection, alerted him to a presence he had detected earlier near the kids house. _Not good at all. If I run now I'll likely be hunted down, and therefore get in another fight._ Lancer glanced towards where his rune had detected the now familiar presence, and he could feel it watching both him and Berserker's contest. _Bah, I'll stand a better chance against Assassin than I will against Berserker... wait a second; he's masking his presence with some strange magic..._ Lancer smiled to himself as he happily realized he had been mistaken. _So it's Caster? What is he playing at? He could have attacked me as I ran from the kids' house earlier._

**"-----------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

As he pondered this latest revelation, Berserker had let out another roar and charged yet again. Lancer quickly evaded him once more before leaping away at top speed, back towards the church and the priest. His damnable mission was now half finished, with the next target already in mind...

"Why did you let him escape, Berserker! You're going to get it when we get back!" Ilya pouted as she scolded her Servant, yet he could not say anything back to her; Being a Berserker meant he could not speak intelligently.

"Come Berserker, maybe we can still find Onii-chan!" She paused before turning her attention to where she had noticed the other Servant beforehand. "And Caster, you should really work on strengthening those masking spells of yours, I've known you were here all along. I'd kill you now, but I'm bored and I still have to find Onii-chan, so I'll deal with you later." With that, she turned and walked away as Berserker disappeared into the night air to silently follow her.

_BGM: Midnight Interval - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

_Crap, I didn't think Ilyasviel would notice that I was here. Thank goodness she didn't feel like fighting again, otherwise I'd have to get serious, and I don't want to have to this early._ Caster cursed her overconfidence in her ability. _Still, at least it's good that Lancer and Berserker fought here; I guess Lancer is on his way back to Kirei, but if they had fought any closer to Sakura it would not have been good._ She paused before the Matou mansions gate as she thought of what else was still yet to occur in this War.

_Rider and Assassin still haven't been summoned. Until than, no one can 'officially' fight, yet that rule didn't seem to apply to Ilyasviel and Lancer anyhow. I'll summon Rider myself before we leave tomorrow, but that means someone still has to summon Assassin..._ Casters' mind flashed as she recalled something she had heard almost immediately upon her summoning.

_"For the past two wars, we've only succeeded in summoning Assassin."_

If this was true, that would mean that a Matou was still best for summoning forth Assassin. Since it was impossible for Shinji, Zouken would have to be the only one able to do so. _I'll have to speed things along than. Once Zouken knows that I've killed the worms inside Sakura he'll surely summon Assassin and hunt us down. Jeez, the Holy Grail War is always troublesome, whether I be a Master, Servant, or both._

Caster sighed as she made her way back to Sakuras' room. Bypassing her wards, she bent over Sakura and began to study the worms scattered throughout her body. She soon discovered that with their death or removal Zouken would be alerted to her actions, so Caster resigned herself to the fact that she could not remove the worms until after she had summoned Rider and they had escaped the Matou mansion. With nothing else to do, Caster tasked herself to guarding Sakura for the remainder of the night, silently praying that everything would turn out alright for the both of them the following morning.

-Interlude-

_BGM: Pity - Chaos;Head Original Soundtrack_

A rushing torrent of death.

She watched as it rushed through a field full of people. It engulfed them, and they disappeared into the endless flood of dark mud, yet no remnants of them could be seen, no matter how hard she looked. She heard the screams. Those of fear of their approaching death; those of agony when they were swallowed; those of loss from those who had watched their loved ones disappear before them, only to follow them almost immediately afterward.

_What a horrible nightmare._ That is all that came to Sakuras' mind as she watched this spectacle from a nearby building, where a woman she had recently come to know was watching as well. Casters' face was pained with many different emotions. Fear, hatred and despair were clearly seen, but as she continued to watch her, she noticed another emotion surface: guilt.

Suddenly she was carried away from the horrible scene, and many new images entered her mind.

A ruby pendent. A man in blue armor with a red lance. A tall woman with violet hair similar to her own with a mask over her eyes. A small girl clad in white with a black giant behind her. The blond foreigner who had harassed her near her home a few days ago dressed in golden armor. A different blonde foreigner in silver and blue armor opposed him with a beautiful golden sword. A pale mask staring out from the shadows. A robed woman grasping a gnarled dagger. A serene samurai wielding a katana stood before a gate. The hair ribbon. A crystal-like sword and a flash of light. But the image that shocked her most was that of a white-haired man in red and black who looked disturbingly like...

_"...Trace, On."_

-Interlude out-

_BGM: Whirlpool of Fate 2 - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Sakura lunged forward in her bed as she woke, sweating and breathing heavily.

"What... what was all of that?" She said aloud.

"Hmm? Are you all right, Sakura?" She looked up to see Caster standing at the edge of her bed with a look of concern.

"I'm not really sure, but... I'll be alright. Just a strange dream." Sakura quickly tried to brush away her flustered appearance and yawned.

"..." Caster said nothing, but glanced down. She didn't know what exactly Sakura had seen, but she knew that it had to have been something from her memories. It had happened with _him_ last time as well. She than remembered what she would have to do today, but she still had to get Sakura to his place without raising suspicion.

"Sakura, will you help me with something? I want to give us an extra... advantage in the War."

"What do you mean, Caster?"

"How about I summon another Servant to help us?"

Sakura's eyes went wide, looking at Caster for an explanation.

"When I was alive, I also participated in this contest known as the Holy Grail War. Due to many various things, I felt unfulfilled as a Master when the War came to a close, and as my Servant was still alive, I was able to keep my Command Spells." To prove her point, she held up her right arm, exposing her Command Spell.

"Spells? But you only have one now."

Caster flinched. _Jeez, why are dense people only sharp when it's really important? At least I've come to anticipate Sakura asking these questions._

"From the time I became a Master I have used two of the three Command Spells: one during the War to get my Servant to listen to me, and the other after the War to force him to continue to follow my orders, but we're getting off track here. During my War, the Caster there was able to summon her own Servant, so I see no reason as to why I would not be able to as well."

She waited for Sakura to digest all of this new information about herself, and when Caster looked back up she nodded.

"I agree with you, summoning another Servant would give us a big advantage."

"Than I must ask that we return to that horrid place where you summoned me, as it will be the best place we can attempt the summoning from in this mansion."

They reluctantly made their way down to the foul cavern where she had been summoned among the festering worms that had helped make Sakuras' life a living hell for eleven years. Caster used simple spells to repel the worms away from her, while they left Sakura alone. They had become accustomed to her presence after the long years.

"And because there are enough inside her already," Caster muttered darkly.

"Hmm? Did you say something Caster?" Sakura inquired.

"It's nothing, just thinking aloud," she hastily replied.

Caster asked Sakura to help her prepare things for a second summoning, for everything needed to look as if Sakura were the one summoning, or her plan was likely to fail. She wanted to call the Rider that she had encountered during the War, Sakura's original Servant. While she was extremely weak, Shinji had been her Master since Sakura had given up her rights as one to him. As Shinji was weak, so to became the Servant. She was certain that Rider would be much more powerful and more useful if she was her Master this time, but Servants are only called to Masters who are like them if they do not have an item relating to them, which surely would have been the case had she not been summoned. That meant that the summoning ritual would have to 'feel' like Sakura was the one performing it in every way, although she would be the one doing the summoning.

While Sakura prepared the room, Caster constructed a boundary field to seal the cavern away from the outside world so that Zouken would not detect the magical energy that would spill from the summoning. _Or from the Jeweled Sword,_ she thought to herself as she quietly muttered her Noble Phantasms' name. The Jeweled Sword appeared in her hand and she opened a rip to borrow the mana from the Sakura in a parallel world for which to fuel the summoning. She did not want to use up hers' or Sakuras' mana this early in the day, at least not when she had a creeping feeling she would need plenty later today. _The other Sakura will be fine anyhow. She should feel sick since she'll be suffering from mana exhaustion, but she'll recover quickly._ She felt something 'different' in the mana she had taken, than realized that this Sakura was still Rider's Master in her world. _Well, that makes things much simpler. The Servant usually helps the Master when they are suffering from mana exhaustion._ Once everything was prepared, she altered her voice to that of Sakura's, and began the summoning ritual.

_BGM: Senrei - Fate/Stay Night the Animation Original Soundtrack_

"-------------I announce.

Thy body shall be under my command, my fate shall be determined by thy sword.

Follow the call of the Holy Grail. If thou wouldst obey this mind and this reason, than answer my call.

Make an oath here.

I am the one who shall become the virtue of all the afterworld.

I am the one who shall lay out the evil of the afterworld.

Thou art the Seven Heavens clad in the Three Great Words.

Emerge from the ring of control, guardian of balance!"

As she finished the spell, a violet flash of light erupted from the summoning circle. Both women closed their eyes in response to it, and when they opened them, a tall woman in dark clothes with long, trailing violet hair stood in the middle of the circle. Caster closed her mouth, which she had unknowingly opened at the Servants' beauty. It appeared that she had succeeded.

"Welcome, Rider." She smiled.

Sakura let out a gasp. The figure of the woman who stood in the middle of the summoning circle, the one who Caster had called Rider, was the same as one of the images she had seen in her dream last night. _What does this mean?_ She wondered to herself, until she noticed the Servant had asked her a question. She quickly shook herself out of her thoughts.

"Um, I'm sorry, can you repeat that, Rider-san?"

The Servant flinched a little in surprise. _This girl seems to be a little... spaced._ Regardless, she repeated her question.

"I asked if you were my Master."

"Eh?!?"

_BGM: Today's Meal - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

The surprised voice was that of Caster, and both plum-haired women turned toward her, surprised. Caster, however, was lost in deep thought. She wondered what had happened, since Rider was supposed to be under her command. Than she realized her flaw. _Of course... everything was made to look as if Sakura was the one performing the summoning, so of course her Master here would be Sakura. Jeez, I'll never be able to summon a Servant exactly how I want._ She sighed, disgusted with herself.

_BGM: Wandering Shadow - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Crap, I messed up again..." She muttered aloud to where the other two could hear her.

"Master, what is... another Servant?" At this, Rider stepped into a guarded position, but Sakura quickly interjected.

"Please wait, Rider! Caster is also my Servant. Actually, she was the one who summoned you, so I think you should be her Servant, not mine," she explained.

"That cannot be, Master. Even if Caster was the one who summoned me, she is not my Master. That honor is only yours." Rider lowered her guard, but refused to budge on who was her Master.

"It's alright, Sakura. I believe I know what happened," Caster spoke, and explained her idea of what had happened. She of course left out the part about her taking mana from another Sakura in a parallel world and substituted in a story that she had made her mana signature match and overlap with Sakuras', thereby causing confusion in the summoning.

"The good news is the summoning worked. However, we do have a slight problem. Now that you're supporting two Servants, both of us will be significantly weaker," Caster finished.

Sakura finally noticed that she felt as if a large weight was constantly pressing down upon her, and she recognized that it was her mana attempting to equally support both Caster and Rider.

"Can we do anything?" She worriedly asked.

Caster thought for a moment, than nodded. She had a solution, but it would mean revealing herself to anyone who could detect her magic if she wasn't careful. _Oh well, there's not many who could figure out who I am in this War. Only Rin, Kirei, Zouken and maybe Ilyasviel could possibly know,_ she thought grudgingly.

"Sakura, I have an idea. My Noble Phantasm can restore my internal mana at anytime, and if need be, Riders' or yours as well. By doing so you may save your mana for any emergencies that may arise."

Both Sakura and Rider looked surprised. Neither of them knew of a Noble Phantasm that had such a function, but if what Caster said was true, than the situation wouldn't be that big of a problem after all. Caster than brought up the other item on the menu for them all today.

"Sakura, we need to leave for the place we found yesterday."

Sakura bit her lip as she looked down. She knew that Caster knew she obviously had reservations going there, but she would have to get over them if she was to be able to participate in this War. Her mind drifted to the happy memories she had built up with _him_ over the past year and a half and she knew. Being able to protect those memories and him so she could dream with him as long as she dared was all she wanted from the seemingly all-powerful Holy Grail. She just hoped she was mistaken about the extremely familiar bruise on his arm...

She nodded to Caster and they started to leave when Rider spoke.

"Why are we leaving here?"

"Because we found a favorable location for my territory," Caster replied.

Because it was Sunday, Caster figured they had plenty of time to leave until Zouken awoke in the evening. _That old bastard, using worms to leech energy and acting only at night. It makes him look like a Dead Apostle, and it suits him well,_ she thought. Shinji had apparently left the house already, and she and Rider followed Sakura out after she had gathered her things as they left for a place that two of them knew would be trouble.

Caster sighed to herself as she walked down the road with Sakura. Rider had fallen back into spirit form to guard her, but Caster felt compelled to stay materialized, if only to give Sakura peace of mind. She sighed as her thoughts drifted back to the day before: Being summoned into this time, finding out Sakura was a Master and her tragic past, the encounter with Archer at the school, watching Lancer and Berserkers' battle...

_BGM: Nightmare - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

The realization hit her like a sledgehammer blow to her skull. The time now was around when Rin would have left Shirou's house for home after treating his wounds from Berserker, and as both the Matou and Tohsaka mansions were in the same area, they would surely cross paths with Rin and Archer en route to Shirou's house. She didn't have a problem with fighting them this early, but letting Rin and Sakura learn that each other was a Master this early on might prove to be problematic. She would have to drive Rin and Archer away from their route before that happened.

"Sakura, please continue on to that house. I have something I must attend to."

When Sakura turned around to question her, Caster intercepted her with a sharp glance.

"Please don't worry, it's nothing important; just a matter that I need to attend to before we arrive so I'm going on ahead."

With that, Caster ran off, leaving Sakura and Rider behind in her wake.

"Master, what did Caster mean by 'something she has to attend to'?"

Sakura was standing in shock. _'Something to take care of'... She can't surely mean to-!_

She snapped out of her shocked state, and turned to Rider.

"Rider, follow Caster! If she attempts to... to get rid of the person who lives at the home we are going to... please stop her!"

"Understood." With that, Rider raced ahead after Caster, leaving Sakura by herself holding the few belongings she had packed. Feeling all alone, her thoughts wandered to behold a familiar figure that might be in danger because of her indecisiveness.

"Please be safe, Senpai..."

-Interlude-

_BGM: Wandering Shadow - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

A hacking cough resounded through the dark mansion. The cough slowly turned into a soft chuckle that crescendoed into a low cackle. The figure that was the source of these sounds was down in the basement, examining the obvious remnants of another summoning.

"Ahahahaha... so that is what she plans to do, eh? This Servant, and this War, just became more interesting!"

-Interlude out-

End Chapter 3

Chapter 4 Preview

**Counterweight**

The future meets the past, at the crossroads of Fate,

The magus' strength is shown, while the red knights' are exposed.

The beastly hunter returns for his prey,

Only to find himself trapped in a widow's web.


	4. Caster Status Page

As some may be wondering the differences between the two Casters in this story and Endless Dream, (and since Pata has already released a stat page for his Caster) I decided to release my own for everyone. So, enjoy. :D

Personal

True Name: TOHSAKA RIN

Class: Caster

Master: Matou Sakura

Alignment: Neutral Good

Stats

**Strength: E** Is unable to wield heavy weaponry or armor.

**Endurence: D** Can shrug off light blows due to martial arts training, but almost anything else will send her reeling.

**Agility: C** Is decently fast due to martial arts training, but nowhere near the level a true master of the art would have.

**Mana: A++** Has a large store of internal mana that can be augmented by her Noble Phantasm.

**Luck: E** Has extremely foul luck, as critical components of plans or tactics she forms tend to be fatally flawed.

**Noble Phantasm: EX** See below.

Skills

**Eye of the Mind (True)** Rank: D

The ability to effectuate rapid and precise judgments gained through experience and training. Tohsaka is capable of calmly analyzing situations, although her horrible luck tends to make her plans go awry.

**Sorcery** Rank: A

The individual's skill in traditional spell casting. Tohsaka has learned how to use even high sorcery, including rituals that she did not previously know due to her warped Magic Crest.

**Territory Creation** Rank: B

Creation of a magical territory that amplifies one's abilities as a magus. Tohsaka is still a capable magus, and as such prefers to have a workshop from where she can continue to conduct magical experiments.

**Item Construction** Rank: D

The expertise to create magical items, usually limited to the Caster class. Tohsaka can create two jewels per day that can be used to store magical energy for later use.

**Enhanced Magic Crest** Rank: A+

Originally the Magic Crest of the Tohsaka family. Due to her contract with the World, the Crest has grown and had many new magics grafted into it, including ones that Tohsaka had never learned.

**Command Spell (2/3)** Rank: A

Was a Master in the Fifth Holy Grail War. Tohsaka only used one out of the three Command Spells during the War, and since she never gave up the will to be a Master she kept her remaining two Command Spells by sheer will. With the Command Spell she can summon a new Servant if she is in a Holy Grail War, becoming a Master again in the process. If used the remaining two times, she will lose the Command Spell and contracts with any Servants she may have made.

**Independent Action** Rank: EX

The capacity of Servants to subsist without a Master. Due to her Noble Phantasm, Tohsaka can last sustain her internal mana indefinetly.

**Noble Phantasm**

**Jeweled Sword Zelretch** Rank: EX _Anti-Army Noble Phantasm_

A weapon created by Zelretch, wielder of the Second Sorcery, the Kaleidoscope. Can open rifts into an infinite number of parallel worlds that can borrow mana from them and channel it into the blade, allowing Tohsaka to fire magical blasts of varying degrees of power, depending on how much mana she borrows.

**Jeweled Sword Zelretch** Rank: EX _Support Noble Phantasm_

Due to the Jeweled Swords' ability, Tohsaka can use it to replenish her internal mana to maximum at anytime, as well as channel the mana borrowed into various objects, whether they be jewels, other Servants, or whatever else Tohsaka feels could be useful.


	5. Counterweight

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to _Fate/Stay Night_, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 4: Counterweight**

_BGM: Premonition of a Storm - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Caster rushed ahead to confront the most difficult Servant/Master pair she would face in this War: Archer and herself. She knew how smart she was this far back, and that if she wasn't careful Rin would quickly find out her identity. The only reason why Archer had been allowed to move about as he had in her War was because he had remained a complete enigma to everyone save himself. In order to accomplish her goals, she would also have to remain anonymous, save to one individual: her former Servant. However, since her other self would be with him most of the time she would have to drop vague hints in their encounters, ones that Rin wouldn't understand but Archer would.

"Easier said than done, he's a complete idiot!" she muttered as she continued to run. _I'll have to be careful and not use any jewels or the Sword... jeez, that limits my combat options to almost none. Most of the new spells granted to me when the Magic Crest was warped turned out to be defensive, so I guess I'll make up a story about attacking my own house and being left with only the ability to play defense than. I'm confident I can hold my own against anything Rin can attempt; her magic is nothing compared to what my boundary shields have handled. As for Archer, only that Reality Marble of his will be troublesome, but he won't have the guts to use it this early, nor in front of Rin since she'll probably end up using a Command Spell to force Archer to tell her who he is. It won't matter anyway, I'll expose his abilities for Rin to see, fufufu._

She continued onward, yet as she approached the crossroads she felt her two targets' presences and stopped before the corner that, once passed, would send events spiraling into motion. _How fitting to encounter them here. Fate certainly is amusing._

With that, Caster turned the corner and walked slowly towards the lone girl.

_BGM: Surrounded by Smiling Faces - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

-Two minutes earlier-

"God, Emiya-kun is so stupid! What kind of magus doesn't kill their enemy when they have the perfect opportunity to do so?!"

"You are right, Rin." came the voice of Archer, who was in spirit form. "However, I would ask the same question of you. Why did you not only save Emiya Shirou last night before he became a Master, but also not kill him when you were able to once he became one? You had numerous opportunities. Even with Saber close by you could have finished him before she had reacted, or I would have at least held her off until you had done so."

"Shut up! I already know that Archer! Ahhhhh, Forget it! I'm too pissed at him to talk about this right now!"

Tohsaka Rin was in a foul mood indeed. Last night's whirlwind of events involving the Grail War had spun out of control after Emiya Shirou had stupidly discovered Archer and Lancers' battle and nearly died for it. At least, until she used up the grand jewel her father had left her to revive him. Afterward she had returned home, where she had realized that Lancer would surely return to kill him a second time. She had immediately set out for his home with Archer in tow. When they had arrived however, they had seen a flash of light, followed by Lancer fleeing, and than to top it all off, Saber, the Servant she had wanted for herself, would probably have killed them had Shirou not used a Command Spell to stop Saber from cleaving Archer in two. _Archer was being stupid too,_ she huffed. _He had no problem defending himself from Lancer, yet he left himself completely open to Sabers' attack. What the hell has got into him? He hasn't seemed like himself since we found Shirou nearly dead inside the school._

After that she had taken Shirou to see Kirei since he was absolutely clueless of the situation he had gotten himself into, and she owed him for saving her life. After learning about the Holy Grail War he had decided to fight and on their way back she told him before they parted that the next time they saw each other they would be enemies, yet they ended up cooperating again just a few seconds later. Ilyasviel von Einzbern had shown up and attacked both of them with her Servant, the monstrous Berserker. Archer finally seemed to return to normal during the battle however, since he was able to kill Berserker with what appeared to be his Noble Phantasm. Yet, he had also destroyed it, which was insane! No hero would willingly destroy the symbol of their legend, yet he did so easily, and at the first opportunity he saw could do so! Saber would probably have been killed as well had Shirou not rushed forward and pulled her away just before Archer's Noble Phantasm struck. For his rash actions he had received a large gash on his back from a jagged piece of shrapnel and knocked unconscious. She had thought she would have to take care of him for some time because of the size of the wound, until she found that the wound had completely healed itself by the time she had carried him back to his home. Confused, all she could do was change his blood-soaked shirt, but for some reason she had decided to watch over him as he slept. _Really, why did I do that? There was no reason for me to help him back home, or watch over him since he's also a Master in the War, so why did I do it?_ When Shirou had finally awoke he had rudely asked why she was in his home, and she had wound up yelling at him for being an idiot when she had been so considerate. At least arguing with him had brought her back to her normal state of mind and she had left shortly thereafter, warning him that the next time they met they would be enemies.

_BGM: Premonition of a Storm - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

As they reached the crossroads leading toward her home, she saw a woman round the corner. The blood in her veins froze, her nerves screaming that this person was dangerous and not to be underestimated.

"Archer!"

With a word, Archer materialized beside her. Surprisingly, he had frozen just as he had.

"Archer, what's with you?"

"Rin, that is Caster. I did not tell you about all that happened last night, but I encountered her shortly after I discovered Emiya Shirou inside the school."

"What?! Than why didn't you kill her?"

"...You had ordered me to go after Emiya Shirou. Lancer had just escaped, and I had completed my objective. It's really your fault that I stayed next to him, so think ahead next time."

Twitch. "Archer, you..."

"Anyway, I decided it was best to wait for you to take another course of action when Caster appeared and, strangely enough, she did not want to fight, but talk."

"That's even stranger. There's no reason for Servants to talk to each other. Your roles are to fight and defeat enemy Servants, not 'talk' to them; any possible alliances are supposed to be left to the Masters. So what did she want from you?"

Archer frowned. "Nothing important," he lied. "She is an unusual Servant, but I am confident I can handle her. She is Caster after all, she lost the moment she appeared before us like this"

"In that case, let's go, Archer."

The two of them steeled their nerves and walked forward to meet their enemy.

All three failed to realize the presence of two others, who decided to watch the spectacle unfold out of sight on nearby rooftops.

_BGM: Into the Night - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Caster didn't flinch as she watched Archer materialize beside Rin. She merely kept walking forward as if they weren't there. Ten meters away from each other, both parties paused.

"Well, this is a surprise. Greetings again, Archer." She spoke first, giving a false smile that could fool almost anyone.

"Caster. What are you doing here," Archer, however, would not be fooled.

She sighed. "You don't have an idea? I told you last night that you were an idiot, but it seems you didn't listen when I told you to start using your brain. My Master and I know of this War and that the Tohsaka family who supervises this land has always had a participant in the previous ones. She advised me to assault their home due to a ley line that lies beneath the ground it is built upon. I agreed, as a location with a functioning ley line would make a perfect location for my territory, don't you think?"

Twitch.

"What? Who the hell do you think you are, Caster?" The ignored Master was becoming irritated.

Caster, however, continued to ignore her other self. "Although the plan was a sound one, I underestimated the strength of the defensive measures that were upon it, and failed, leaving me quite drained," she lied. "I will not attack you, as I don't have the means by which to kill you, but don't think that means I will die quietly if you choose to attack me here."

Twitch-Twitch.

"Hey...Archer..."

Archer ignored her and clucked his tongue. "Really, Caster. You admit all of that and you dare to make such a speech? I don't know what your goals are but don't think I'll let this opportunity pass!"

Snap.

**"BOTH OF YOU STOP IGNORING ME, DAMMIT!!"** Rin exploded, enraged that not only Caster, but Archer as well were ignoring her.

"...Caster, I do believe Rin asked you a question earlier. Why did you not answer her?" He decided that it might not be in his best interest to tease her now.

_You're just as guilty as she is,_ came the message from Rin's eyes when he looked at her.

"Oh, is that your Master's name? As for your question Archer, the answer is simple. I don't speak to trash," Caster replied.

-Stop BGM

All sound seemed to cease, save for the chilling wind and lone newspaper that blew along the street in between the three.

Archer held down a chuckle before flinching. _What the hell, why has this turned into a standoff from an American Western movie?_ Still, even those he did not like her, he felt a little sympathy for Caster. She had managed to push his Rin over the edge and he felt that he should disappear soon before she remembered him and decide to blast him as well for just being there.

"So... I'm trash, am I?" Rin's voice was a near inaudible whisper, yet it rang as clear as a bell. "It seems I'm being underestimated. **I'll show you who is trash!!**" With that, she took a ruby from her pocket and flung it as hard as she could at Caster's face, releasing the raw, unprocessed magical energy she had stored inside of it.

A raging inferno erupted from the fiery stone and raced toward Caster, who stood her ground. The firestorm engulfed her, but within a second had dispersed, leaving her completely unharmed.

"No way..." Rin fell to her knees, full of disbelief. Not one, but two Servants had now stopped her most powerful attack as if they were nothing.

Surprisingly, however, Caster began to clap.

-Resume BGM

"I take back what I said. You are not trash, Miss Rin. Your effort was worthy, but futile. I don't have a high magic resistance like the three Knight classes may have, but during my lifetime I trained under a sorcerer whose magic capabilities far exceed yours, and I had to develop boundary fields that could withstand even his magic; your magic by comparison stood no chance."

Rin's expression hardened until she had managed her way back to her original poker face.

"Well, I'm sorry that I can't match up to this 'oh so great sorcerer',"she said sarcastically.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of. Well, that would be lying, of course, but a free piece of advice. You should be more careful with those jewels. Storing excess mana inside such things can be an effective trump card, but because you are so young you can't have a large supply of them. Don't lose your head so easily and study your enemy first before you decide to use one like that again."

Rin's face flushed red in irritation and embarrassment as she gritted her teeth.

"S-Shut up! I don't need a lecture from you on how to use my magic!"

"Apparently you do, otherwise you would have done just as I said. But I understand you are young so your emotions tend to get the better of you at times. You'll grow up eventually," Caster flashed a smile as she finished her lecture.

Now she was _really_ pissed. "Archer, kill her!" she howled.

Archer said nothing but began walking toward Caster, grasping his favored swords in his hands.

Caster shook her head. "Still so young... So you will attack me after all, Archer?" she glanced uninterestingly at the red knight.

"Of course, Caster. Even had Rin not ordered me to I would have," he replied.

"I see. You've chosen to ignore my warning."

Archer ignored her. Whoever she was and how she knew of him and his objective here would be meaningless once she was dead. Than nothing would stop him from returning to Emiya Shirou and killing him, and hopefully eliminating him from this world of empty promises and ideals. He continued to ignore Caster even when she had raised her hand and pointed toward him.

"_Aufgeschlusselt Projektion._"

_BGM: Whirlpool of Fate - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Something than happened to Archer that had never happened to him before. Kansho and Bakuya _exploded_ in his hands and he was sent flying through the air, landing hard on his back next to Rin.

"What...the...hell?"

Archer could barely whisper out the words since he was having trouble breathing, but that was only natural since two explosions, each with the force of a small bomb, had gone off in his hands. A normal human would have been killed by such a blast, but he was no mere human. While his limbs and appendages were still intact because of the abnormal construction of his body, there was no place on him that was not stained with fresh blood, including his face and white hair.

"Archer!" Rin called down to him in shock before realizing her mistake and turned back to Caster, looking quite livid. "What the hell did you do to him?!"

"I merely blew him away. Don't look so surprised, Miss Rin, I had warned him after all. I observed his battle with Lancer last night, and he's no Archer. Did you not notice that every time Lancer knocked one of those swords out of his hands Archer would replace it with an identical one, even when he had no place from which to store them?"

Rin certainly had thought it odd, but hadn't thought too hard about it at the time, due to last nights fast-moving events.

Caster saw the realization root on Rin's face before she continued her explanation.

"I was extremely surprised when I realized the solution to this mystery. Archer here is not an 'Archer' at all, but a fellow magus like you and I. I don't know why, but it seems he only uses one of the most basic of magics: Projection. He uses it to instantly recreate any weapon he needs, as many times as are needed. Such magic is simple, and so too is the countermeasure for it. The only thing I did was 'break' the swords he had Projected. The strength of Projection is based on how well the image making it up is perceived by the creator, but even if the image were absolutely perfect it is still something that should not exist in this world, and thus easy to destroy. How sad for a superior magus such as you to have summoned a Servant that has a 'Noble Phantasm' as pathetic as Projection!"

Caster, of course, was lying through her teeth since she knew full well what Archer's true Noble Phantasm was, but she was confident that Rin would believe the story she had presented.

Rin was beside herself. _Projection?!? Archer, you...idiot!_ Her instincts had been correct after all when she had thought she had screwed up her summoning. When he had fought Lancer back so well, she had begun to believe she was wrong, but now it was obvious that she had been right all along, and her botched summoning was causing her to pay the price. _I'll never be able to defeat this enemy, at least not with 'Archer' as my Servant. Still, what is Caster waiting for? She was obviously lying when she said she was drained, so, she should easily be able to kill us,_ she thought.

_BGM: Footsteps of Destruction - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Well? Aren't you going to finish us Caster?" Rin asked the victor.

"I already said that I won't attack, and I won't break my word," she replied.

"What about what you just did to Archer?" Rin gestured to her smoking Servant, who was still on the ground.

"To be brutally honest, you two are both idiots. You, however, are smart, while he's a lost cause. Besides, I prefer not to kill people who have no idea of the situation they have gotten themselves into, and that definitely applies to you," Caster explained.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rin was unsure of what Caster was trying to say.

Caster sighed. "I take back what I just said about you being smart. Use _your_ brain and start with Archer and maybe you'll understand why I'm doing this. Now go."

"Why should I leave? Shouldn't _you_ be leaving since you won?" Rin asked.

"I'm telling you to leave _because_ I won, and as the loser, you're the one who is supposed to acquiesce to my request," she retorted.

Rin scoffed. "You know, I understand you, but I can't _stand_ you."

Caster smiled. "The feeling is mutual, you remind me too much of myself when I was alive."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Rin growled.

"Anyway you want to interpret it," Caster replied cryptically.

Rin grunted, than turned her attention to her broken Servant, who was still lying on the ground.

"Archer, get up. We can't harm her, so we'll leave for now. We will also have a _very long_ talk about you when we can relax."

Archer stood up and dusted himself off before throwing a loathing gaze at Caster.

"Arara, so frightening. I look forward to meeting the two of you again."

As Rin and Archer turned to leave, she called once again.

"Archer."

The knights' silence with his back turned implied that he would listen.

"Next time, be sure to use 'it'." and she hammered the nail home.

"You!!"

Archer whirled around immediately to see Caster smirking at him. There could be no mistaking what she had meant. _She knows about even my Reality Marble?!_ Every ounce of his being burned to know the answer to a single question.

"Caster, I'll ask you again: Who the hell _are_ you?" his teeth grinding.

"That again? I'll give you the same answer I told you last night, and what I just told Miss Rin: Use. Your. Brain. Next time I won't let you go," and she folded her arms, showing that she would not say anything else.

"Archer, forget about her. We'll figure out something later, but let's go. I'm hungry and I feel like getting far away from here for now."

The irritated tone of his Master brought him back to reality. "Yes, Rin."

The defeated pair walked away, heading in the direction of Shinto. Rin, however, was contemplating something she had noticed. _What is Caster protecting? If she knew where my home was than she should have let us pass so that we could return._

Caster sighed to herself as she turned around to head back to Sakura. _Phew, at least this problem is done with. Now Sakura won't have to be concerned about-_

"Yo."

_BGM: Breach - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Caster immediately tensed and turned back around. There, where Rin and Archer were standing a minute ago now stood Lancer, Gae Bolg already leveled in her direction. _Not good, I didn't anticipate anyone showing up now, let alone this guy!_

"What do you want Lancer?" she asked the azure knight.

"Isn't it obvious? You should already know why I'm here, Caster!" Lancer shouted as he bolted toward her.

Lancer felt the slight disturbance in the wind before he thrust Gae Bolg upward to deflect whatever projectile was coming at his face.

**Clang!**

Lancer leaped back as the thrown dagger was reeled back in by the tall woman who now stood between Caster and himself.

Caster gasped before calling out. "Rider! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Master was worried you were to going kill the person who lives at the location we are heading to and ordered me to follow and stop you if you attempted to do so," she answered.

"Damnit! I wasn't going to do anything of the sort! I just needed to drive off those two-"

"Oy, how long are the two of you going to ignore me like this?" the forgotten figure asked.

Both women snapped their heads back to the man in blue armor.

"This is perfect. I had three left and now after this I'll only need one," he stated.

"Lancer, what do you mean?" Rider asked.

"I believe I know. Lancer, I watched all of your battles last night, yet you weren't entirely serious in any of them. The only reason I can think of as to why you did not go all out was because your Master has ordered you to engage and observe the fighting capabilities of the other Servants, not kill them. How close am I?"

Lancer clucked his tongue before answering. "Spot on, Caster." _Too spot on,_ he thought. _How does she know that priests' orders?_ He eyes than settled on Rider.

"It also seems that I was not the only one watching Archer and his Master make a fool of themselves."

Caster smirked. "Well, than you don't need to face me, now do you? You've already seen enough of my abilities, and I don't see the need to show you any more."

"Hah! Arrogant woman, why should I listen to you?・He growled as he turned back to the robed Servant.

"Because you still have another opponent whose capabilities you do not know." The black widow purred as she rushed toward the blue knight again, a dagger thrown as accurately as a dart aiming for his heart.

**End Chapter 4**

Chapter 5 Preview

**Holiday**

Specialists of speed show their skills,

Sisterly bonds are revealed.

A man and his Servant at a place of learning

Return home to encounter trouble, brewing.


	6. Holiday

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to _Fate/Stay Night_, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 5: Holiday**

_BGM: Clashing Souls - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

While he was slightly surprised, Lancer had anticipated the charge of the Servant called Rider. He quickly jumped sideways to escape the attack, but before he could ready himself to counter, he had to quickly jump away again, dodging another accurately thrust dagger. Lancer was hardly allowed time to breathe between near misses as he continued to dodge the constant attacks that Rider sent his way.

The three Knight class Servants are usually grouped together because they tend to have high magic resistance. There is, however, another way in which they can be classified: each represents one of the three ranges of combat. Saber is best at close-range assaults, while Archer is suited for long-range. The Lancer class fills the needs of the mid-range attacker, keeping close-range opponents from closing in on them with the superior range of their spear, while still being able to close in themselves against long-ranged attackers. At mid-range, speed is paramount, and therefore heroic spirits that qualify for the Lancer class tend to specialize in speed as well as being infamous with a spear.

Lancer, without any information about his previous opponents, had been able to engage and retreat due to one factor: his speed. What he could not have known, however, was that Rider's speed rivaled his own!

Lancer put power into his legs and jumped back much further this time than he previously had. The new distance that had opened up finally allowed him to set his feet and he began to deflect Rider's accurately thrown daggers.

On the other side, Rider moved effortlessly as she leapt all over the open street. She, too, was a mid-range attacker, and against an opponent with the same range the winner would be the one who could keep up a constant string of blows until one of them connected. Although Lancer's previous leap had allowed him more distance in which he could defend himself from her blows, Rider continued to advance, hoping to keep her temporary advantage. She quickly realized as her attacks continued to be deflected that if she kept up the pace Lancer would eventually knock her off balance and their positions at the start of the battle would be switched.

Too late. She landed awkwardly on her left foot, and Lancer was immediately upon her like a dog on table scraps. Although the size and density of her daggers (and that they were connected by a chain) would not normally be enough to block and deflect Lancer's attacks for long, she managed to keep her grip on them, (as if she had super-human strength,) preventing Lancer from knocking them away from her as he had done with Archers' swords.

However the situation would not last long. Even with her superior strength, the heaviness of Lancer's blows and the velocity in which they were coming were steadily increasing, while her hands had already gone numb. Soon she would not be able to keep up with every attack and one would eventually slip through her guard and end the fight. However, a slight gap in Lancer's pattern of attacks signaled to Rider that maybe now was her chance to try and turn the tables once more back to her favor.

She quickly back flipped away from her opponent and readied herself for the incoming crimson spear. However, Lancer had disappeared from her field of vision. Confused, she hesitated for a second. Behind her, Caster quickly yelled out.

"Above you!"

Rider snapped her head towards the sky, and there she found the azure knight already in the descent of his leap, the demonic spear aimed right at her chest. She let out a loud grunt as she put all the power she could manage into her suddenly burning legs to jump away before Lancer could skewer her on his lance, and blindly thrust one of her daggers back in his direction as she leapt.

"Argh!"

The painful howl was music to her ears, and she instantly locked onto the face of her prey and prepared to launch the finishing blow.

"Rider! No, stop!" Sakura's voice rang out.

-BGM fade out

Rider froze, and Lancer took the opportunity to jump backward as he clutched his right arm, a beast-like look of fury on his face.

"Damn! You're a lot stronger than you look woman," he growled.

Rider said nothing at first, than called back to Sakura, who had appeared next to Caster.

"Master, why did you call for me to stop? I would have been able to kill him."

"I know! But..." Her voice trailed off. _I_ know _him. I've seen him in my dreams, just as I saw you..._

"So what do you intend to do with me girl?" The injured knight asked.

Sakura was at a loss. She knew what choice of action was expected of her, yet there were too many questions she needed answers to. Why did Caster run off? Why did she see first Rider and now Lancer in the dream she had last night? She didn't know what to do, but thankfully someone else spoke up in her stead.

"Since she just saved you by stopping Rider from putting a spike through your face, I would assume she's going to let you go, Lancer," and Casters' voice broke the silence.

"Kheh, I guess I should be thankful than. But Caster," Lancer turned to face her, "I'll let you off today, but after I find Assassin, _you_ will be the first I come back for," and he dropped a challenge as he left, dashing away at an impressive speed.

"Idiot, as if Assassin would let anyone find him. He's more likely to find _you_ first, but even if you survive I won't ever fight you," she said aloud even though Lancer could not hear her. She paused a second more before turning back to her sister/Master. "Well, let's be on our way... Sakura?"

_BGM: Time Together - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Not many things could surprise her anymore, but Caster could not recall a time that Sakura's face looked the way it was now. _Angry would be an understatement,_ she nervously thought. _She looks more irate than I-, no, Rin did earlier._

"Caster, you ran off ahead to fight that Lancer Servant?" Sakura demanded.

"Actually, I... yes, I did." She stopped herself from spilling what she truly had run off for, thankful for Sakura's misunderstanding. Her lie was all for naught, however.

"Master, it appeared to me that encountering Lancer was an unexpected outcome. After you ordered me to catch up to Caster, I observed her battle Archer and her Master." Rider threw a proverbial left hook that connected dead on.

_Shit! I knew this second botched summoning would come back to bite me in the ass as well!_ Caster felt she was screwed and gulped, wondering if the suddenly approaching black clouds were signifying something.

Sakuras' voice seemed to drip with venom when she spoke next. "You would lie to me as well? What possible reason could you have for running off without me to encounter another Servant on your own?"

Somehow, Caster managed to keep her composure as she continued to try and lie her way out of this foul situation. "I sensed Archer's presence as we were walking, and I didn't want to put you in any danger so I rushed ahead to drive him away."

"Oh? How did you know that the presence you felt belonged to Archer?" Sakura's needling questions had trapped her quite well, and Caster knew it.

"...I was unsure that it was Archer until I encountered him, Sakura," she threw out one more lie, hoping to escape her fate.

"So, you rushed ahead to encounter a Servant whose abilities you were not aware of under the pretense of protecting me?"

Surprisingly, Sakura's face began to soften. She probably would have calmed down completely, had the black temptress not spoken again.

"Actually Master, from what I witnessed and overheard from their battle it seemed that Caster was well aware of Archer's abilities," and the knockout blow came from her fellow Servant.

Sakura's expression became so dark that she suddenly reverted to a small smile, and Caster finally cracked as a frightened yip came from her. She knew that smile, as she had usually been the one to give rather than receive it.

"Please explain to me how you came to know of Archer's abilities," came the cold, clear whisper.

Caster suddenly felt an urge to take the full brunt of Ea rather than answer Sakura's question. Something struck her though, and she said the first thing that came to her mind.

"No."

Too bad it was quite possibly the worst answer she could have given. Silence ruled the world again for a few seconds, than...

"...Ok, fine. I won't ask about this anymore. However, to make sure this won't happen again," Sakura paused, than...

**"Don't ever leave my side again unless I say so!!"** she screamed, and her hand burned. One of the Command Spells had disappeared.

Caster couldn't tell what was more shocking; that Sakura had blown up in front of her, or that she had just used her first Command Spell for something trivial as this, just as she had done. (And done quite well, she had to admit. It pained her to even think of leaving Sakura.) The whole scene was so ridiculous, she couldn't help it. It started as a snicker, that soon grew into a giggle, that evolved to a chuckle, and concluded in a loud chortle. _She really is my sister,_ was her first thought, followed by _...How long has it been since I last laughed?_ Than she remembered that Sakura was angry with her, and laughing at what she had done had probably _not_ been the thing to do.

**"Shut up! We're leaving for Senpai's house. Now!"**

Sakura shouted and began walking briskly down the road. Caster kept giggling but followed after her. Rider, however, was completely floored by what she had just witnessed.

"...Master...is frightening when she's angry..." she said aloud before dematerializing back to spirit form and moving to follow the other two.

_BGM: Premonition of a Storm - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

After the trio had left, a man casually walked around the corner he had been observing the events from since Caster, Archer and his Master had fought.

"Caster...such an extravagant beauty, with brains to match..." The man ran a hand through his short blonde hair. "Perhaps I should take her as well as Saber," he smiled wickedly as his thoughts drifted to compose a completely new fantasy.

_BGM: Surrounded by Smiling Faces - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Both Servants knew not to make a sound considering the uncharacteristic outburst Sakura had not too long ago, and they all walked in silence to the old style Japanese inn that served as Emiya Shirou's home. Two of the three females were fretting with worry; Caster because she still wasn't sure how she was going to deal with Saber, while Sakura wondered how she was going to keep both Caster and Rider a secret from Shirou. Due to Sakuras' radiating irritation and anger, none of the _three_ Servants were able to sense each others' presence, and a frightened boy decided to leave her be.

When they had arrived, Sakura noted that that gate was locked, which meant that he had probably gone out for a little while. Sakura let out a sigh of relief than let herself in, pausing to take her shoes off by the door. She almost called back for her two Servants to do the same before she realized that it was probably impossible for them to do so, and she set out for the kitchen.

"Caster, Rider, you two wait in the living room. I'll fix some tea for us while we wait for Sempai."

Both of them nodded. Caster sat on a cushion while Rider materialized and stood near the side of the room. They could hear Sakura humming to herself happily as she worked in the kitchen.

Caster smiled. "She certainly seems to like it here much better than her home, and she seems to have calmed down as well."

To her surprise, Rider let out a small smile as well. "Yes, it does seem that way. Is that why you chose this location for your territory?"

Caster flinched. "Whatever do you mean Rider? I told you why this location was favorable."

"Do not insult me by assuming that you are the only one who can sense where the ley lines are in this city just because you are Caster. It is obvious to me that there are no such lines here, so there must have been another reason that you selected this place," Rider mused.

"...Forgive me, but my reasons are my own, and I must keep them a secret."

"Even from a fellow Servant with the same Master?"

"Especially so, for my reasons cannot be known by Sakura either, at least not yet. If you are worried, suffice yourself to know this: Whatever I may do will be to help Sakura win this War if she so desires, and I will not allow any harm to come to her."

"Than I will not ask you about this again," Rider replied.

Caster was thankful to avoid anymore of Rider's questions when Sakura reappeared with tea for them all to enjoy as they waited for the master of the house to return.

_BGM: Tender Scenery - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Emiya Shirou slumped forward as he walked to school carrying the lunch he was going to deliver to Fuji-Nee, pressured by the blonde girl who was walking close behind him. Fuji-Nee had called him up shortly after Tohsaka left to con him into bringing her food so she wouldn't have to spend her own money on some. While he didn't have a problem with it, Saber had insisted on following him to the school in case he was attacked, which he disliked. _She's a girl! Man, what will I do if someone from school sees her following me!_ He didn't have to wait long though, as he saw Sakura across the street, headed in the opposite direction toward his house.

_Oh crap! Of all people, why Sakura!_ He quickly tried to think of any excuse to deny the strange situation, but nothing came to mind. _...I'm screwed...might as well get it over with,_ he sighed.

"Hey, Saku-erk!" He had started to call out to her, than he had felt something that he had never felt from Sakura before. Just by looking at her he felt like she could disintegrate him. _I...think I'll just let her be. It seems she's headed for my home, so hopefully she'll have calmed down by the time I get back._ Sakura didn't seem to notice him either, and he sighed with relief. Than, he noticed an odd out of place woman in a dark robe silently following behind Sakura. _What the? Why is someone in cosplay following Sakura? Moreover, what anime is she supposed to be from? Maybe I should ask Fuji-Nee, she always seems to know about strange trends._

"Shirou, is something wrong?" A voice asked from behind him.

Shirou froze, having forgotten that Saber was following him as well.

"It's nothing, although now I think that it was a good thing you decided to follow me," he said, not liking the mental image that was forming of Sakura arriving at his home to see an unfamiliar, blond foreigner answer the door. _With the way she is right now, she's more likely to kill me if she saw me with Saber... _he thought gloomily.

"She certainly seems to be in a foul mood. Perhaps someone filled her gauntlets with horse manure," Saber said, recalling a situation in which one her fellow squires had done so to her before she had become King. Her answer had been swift and harsh as was expected of her, as the day after the mans' armor has become so tight that while riding it had dug into his nether regions and he had almost lost his 'equipment.' Every time they met afterward he would always shy away from her in fear.

"...I'm not even going to ask. Anyway, let's go, Saber. Only bad things will happen if Fuji-Nee doesn't get her lunch."

"Is this person really so fearsome, Shirou?"

"She's like a tiger when she's hungry, and I don't want to have to deal with her like that if I can help it, and the members of the Archery Club shouldn't have to suffer her absurdity."

By the time they had arrived at the school Shirou had come up with the plan to pass Saber off as an acquaintance of his fathers' from one of his many trips overseas, and that she had come to visit them and sightsee. The dojo was loud as he entered, with the many students voicing concerns to Taiga, who, because she was hungry, told them absurd things such as "It's just a small cut, no need to go to the nurse's office," or, "If you break that bow, I'll break your neck." _She's really harsh when she's hungry,_ Shirou sighed as he made his way over to her.

"Hey, Fuji-Nee! I've got your lunch, so hurry up and eat it so you'll stop terrorizing the other club members."

"Eh? I don't know what you're talking about, Shirou," Taiga said with her mouth full of food. "By the way, have you seen Sakura-chan today? It's unusual for her to miss two consecutive days of practice. I asked Matou-kun if he's seen her, but he's been acting odd as well."

"Well, I saw Sakura on my way here. She seemed to be headed for my place, but she looked quite angry for some reason and she didn't look up when I called out to her. But what's wrong with Shinji?" _Maybe Sakura finally had enough and blew up at him and she decided to head to my place to cool off,_ he thought.

"He's been acting like he's afraid of his own shadow all morning, jumping at the smallest things and he hasn't managed to hit a target either." Taiga gestured over to the subject in question, who was sitting against the wall, holding his head in his hands.

"I'll talk to him and see if there's anything I can do Fuji-Nee," he answered.

"Thanks Shirou, that would help a lot," she told him.

Shirou started to head over to Shinji, but Taiga grabbed his sleeve and whispered,

"Hey, Shirou. Who's that girl that came in with you? It can't be..." her eyes widening. "You finally found yourself a girlfriend?!" she exclaimed loudly.

"F-Fuji-Nee! That's not it at all!" he panicked as he felt many pairs of eyes digging into his back.

"Oh~, I see~, you're embarrassed to admit it. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone~," she said with a tone that implied that she would tell anyone she met.

"She's an acquaintance of fathers' from overseas, and she arrived yesterday to see how he was and see the sights. She was saddened to learn that he had passed away, but I told her she was welcome to stay until she decided to head home," Shirou hastily explained.

"Kiritsugu-san? Well, he did have a lot of friends outside of Japan...Well!" she said with a start. "Don't try anything funny Shirou! I'll beat some punishment into you if you do!" and she walked away towards another student who was having trouble with his bow.

With no other distractions, he decided to head over to Shinji, before another hand latched onto his shoulder.

"Hey Emiya, did you and your new friend come to shoot a round?"

He turned back around to see Mitsuzuri Ayako smiling at him.

"Ah, hey Mitsuzuri. No, I just came to deliver Fuji-Nee her lunch when she called asking me to. You know just as well as I do how crazy she can get if she goes without food for long.

The archery captain sighed. "Don't I know it, any longer and she might have stolen one of the students' lunches. Thanks for that, Emiya. So, who is that girl anyway? She's really beautiful."

Shirou relayed his story about Saber being a family acquaintance, which Mitsuzuri appeared to accept.

"Anyway, I'm going to see if I can do anything for Shinji. Fuji-Nee said he's been out of it all morning," he told her.

"Yeah, it's troublesome, to be honest. After just this morning I think I'm starting to miss the old Shinji who's arrogant and belittles the freshmen," she muttered. "Well, do your best Emiya, but don't take on too much of his troubles," she said before leaving to help another student herself.

He finally made his way over to Shinji.

"Hey Shinji, what's wrong?"

Shinji said nothing.

"Hey, I saw Sakura out earlier. Did you two have a fight or something this morning?"

Shinji shook his head, but didn't say anything.

"Look Shinji, we're friends, aren't we? I'll do whatever I can to help mend whatever happened between you two," he offered.

"She..." Shinji finally spoke.

"Hmm? What is it Shinji?"

"She...she threatened me..."

"Sakura did?" That was unusual. _Sakura doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do something like that,_ he thought.

"No...not Sakura...that woman...with a dark robe..." he stammered.

Something nagged at him, that what Shinji was saying was important, but Shirou couldn't figure out what it was.

"Don't worry Shinji, I'm sure Sakura will calm down and she'll be back to normal, so do your best and get back to your old self soon, ok? Everyone's worrying about you."

"I...I'll try. And Emiya?" He finally looked up at the boy who considered him as a friend. "Thanks," and he eked out a small smile.

Shirou returned it with an even bigger one. "That's what friends are for.

_BGM: Madder Red Town - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Shirou had decided to stay the rest of the day at the school to show Saber around (and to give Sakura more time to cool off) and they left with Taiga to walk home together.

"Ahhhh~ I hope Sakura-chan's making something good for dinner!" Taiga lazily mused, already daydreaming of a large, exquisite dinner.

"Hopefully," Shirou added. _I really hope she's still not angry,_ still terrified of what Sakura would say when she saw Saber.

However, when he looked back, Saber was as she usually was as they made their way back.

When they arrived home and opened the front door, Shirou noted that two pairs of shoes were by the door: Sakuras', and an unfamiliar pair of white heels.

"Sakura! Do we have a guest?" he called out loudly.

_BGM: Nightmare - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Suddenly, Saber rushed by him, heading inward.

"Saber! What's wrong!" he asked in confusion.

"Shirou! There is a Servant here!" she shouted back, her armor forming as she raced towards the presences she felt in the living area.

_WHAT?!?_ was all Shirou could think of as he raced to catch up to Saber, his mind drifting back to the previous night with Lancer. _If that's true, that means Sakura could be in danger as well!_

One person was left standing at the door, with a bewildered expression on her face.

"Servant? What is Shirou talking about? And where did that armor come from?" Taiga wondered aloud.

"It's nothing, Fujimura-sensei," came a voice directly behind her.

Taiga turned around to see a woman wrapped in black with cool blue eyes.

Caster pointed a finger at her former teacher.

"Sorry. _Schlafen,_" was all she said, and Taiga slumped to the floor, but something slipped from her lips as she lost consciousness.

"Toh...saka...san?"

**End Chapter 5**

Chapter 6 Preview

**Crimson Lotus**

Senpai and Kouhei come together,

One Servant begins to suspect another.

The red knight reveals his origins?

And another dream appears.


	7. Crimson Lotus

Sorry that this took me a bit longer than I expected, but I did not expect the receive the news I did Sunday evening. My estranged father passed away Sunday morning, apparently of a drug overdose. What makes it worse is that I was supposed to meet him for dinner Sunday night for an early Christmas since he would be out driving as he was a truck driver, and I hadn't seen him in five years.

We may have been estranged, but he was still my father, and so, I dedicate this Chapter to him, in particular the section about Shinji, as he was also a man who deserved a second chance, and he tried his best to make use of it.

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to _Fate/Stay Night_, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 6: Crimson Lotus**

_BGM: Breach - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Sakura, do we have a guest?"

The sweet violet haired girl heard the familiar reassuring voice of her Sempai, but before she could hurry to meet him, a silver blur bounded into the kitchen like a mad beast.

Saber made it from the front door to the kitchen in the breadth of three seconds, and she quickly identified the target in front of her as an enemy. She was not a Servant, but with one nearby, she surely must be its' Master, and if she quickly eliminated her, the Servant would be no threat to Shirou. She swung her invisible sword at the defenseless girl.

**CLANG!**

Of course, it wasn't that simple; the Servant would always be close to the Master, so three seconds was plenty of time for it to defend its' Master. The silver swordsman locked onto the eyes of her enemy - or at least she attempted to, had they not been covered by some sort of eye mask. What was most surprising however was the fact that the masked Servant had blocked her attack by parrying it between two small pointed daggers connected by a long chain. _To be able to do such a thing with these weapons, she must be extremely strong. No matter though. I will not allow any harm to come to Shirou!_ she yelled inwardly.

She broke the deadlock between them and back flipped into the living area, planning to charge and slice through her opponent. However, her senses screamed in alarm, and she _reacted,_ deflecting the surprise throw of one of the Servants' spiked daggers as effortlessly as if she had seen it thrown.

Both Servants deadlocked again, this time mentally, sizing each other up.

Than, two voices shouted in unison.

"Rider, stop!"

"Saber, stop!"

Emiya Shirou had made it to the living area, and upon hearing those words uttered by a voice he knew well, he slowly turned to behold Sakura; both of them had the same utterly bewildered look on their faces.

The two Servants paused - if only for a second - to speak to their Masters.

"Shirou, please stay back!"

"Master, stay behind me."

Sakura felt as if all light had vanished from her eyes. Her worst fears had been realized. She slumped to her knees, grinding the chicken she had been holding merely seconds ago into the floor. _No...why...why is Sempai..._

Shirou, however, merely stood there, his mind a complete blank. _What...how...Sakura is...a Master?_

"What the hell are you doing just standing there for you idiot?!" a voice echoed in his ear.

As he turned around, Shirou caught a glimpse of cool blue eyes before he was thrown down harshly. He could only see a dark robe as the figure passed over him.

"Alright, that's enough! _Schild der tausend Rosen!_" the new arrival, Caster, shouted.

Instantly, a large amount of transparent walls appeared throughout the room, each red as a rose, intersecting, bisecting and overlapping each other. The barriers effectively isolated everyone from each other. Caster knew of Sabers' magic resistance, and because of that, one or two barriers would not be enough, she would simply run through them. The Shield of a Thousand Roses, however, would at least severely hamper Sabers' progress.

_BGM: The End of Reminiscence - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Shirou sat on his behind, stunned at all that had just transpired. It was than he noticed something that caused his breathing to stop cold. Taiga was lying unconscious in the robed woman's arms.

"Fuji-Nee!" he shouted, and tried to force his way through the closest shield, but to no avail. "What did you do to Fuji-Nee?!"

"Normal people can't have knowledge of the Grail War, boy, what do you think I did?" came the cold reply.

"What...do you mean?" he asked, afraid that he already knew the answer. _If Fuji-Nee is dead because of me..._ he couldn't bring himself to finish his thought.

"Ah, you assume I killed her. I suppose I normally would have, had Sakura not insisted that normal people not be dealt with in such a way," the mysterious woman replied.

"That means that...Sakura really is a Master..." Shirou murmured. "But than, what happened to Fuji-Nee?"

"I put her into a forced sleep, so Sakura could decide what to do about her. We did not come here to fight. Heck, none of us even knew you were a Master, boy, so if everyone will calm down and not _attack_ each other," she glanced sharply at Saber and Rider, "I believe we can resolve this in a more civilized manner. I'm Caster by the way, if you haven't guessed yet," flashing Shirou a smile.

_Why does that smile seem so...familiar?_ he wondered.

"Don't be stupid Caster," Saber said from across the room. "Shirou would never agree to such a-"

"I won't harm Sakura, Caster. Remember what I said, Saber? I won't kill other Masters if they aren't evil, and I know for a fact Sakura isn't that kind of person," he smiled as he glanced at Sakura, who had finally looked up at him.

"Ahh...Sem...pai..." she whispered, tears in her eyes.

"Master, I do not trust this-" the violet and black Servant started.

"No, Rider. Do not attack either of them; that is my order as a Master," she softly replied, as she turned back to look at the Servant, Saber, who had nearly killed her. But that wasn't the reason she was frightened. She had recognized the Servant as the third individual today that she had also seen in last nights dream. _Why? What is that dream? What is the significance behind it?!?_ she wondered, desperately wanting an answer.

"Alright than, I'll lower these now," Caster said, and the walls of rosy red vanished as suddenly as they had appeared.

Shirou immediately rushed to Sakura's side, only to be cut off by Rider.

"Do not approach my Master, Master of Saber," she said menacingly.

"Now is not the time for this!" he shouted. "Let me help Sakura!"

"Rider, let the boy pass. Even you should be able to realize he doesn't mean Sakura any harm," Caster softly spoke.

"...As you wish," she said as she stepped aside.

Shirou crouched down to the frightened plum-haired girl he had come to know and appreciate, and held out his hand.

"I'm here, Sakura," he said softly.

"Sem...pai..." was all she could say, and she took his hand and he pulled her up. They stood still there for a few seconds, gazing at each other.

"Shirou, I demand to know what you plan to do about this Master and her Servants." She than nodded toward Sakura as the two Masters quickly saperated from each other, blushing furiously. "Speaking of which, I find it odd that she has more than one Servant. She must have already killed another Master and taken their Servant for her own."

Shirou didn't want to consider the possibility that Sakura may have killed someone, but he had to ask.

"Sakura...have you?" he asked, his voice full of trepidation.

Caster was the one to reply instead. "No, she has not. I attempted to summon a Servant for myself, but I botched it and Rider ended up under Sakura again," she muttered.

"Again? No, wait. Can Servants summon other Servants?" Shirou asked.

"I'm a magus, and I have a Command Spell, so I don't see why not," she answered offhandly.

Both Saber and Shirous' eyes widened at hearing Caster's nonchalant claim.

Saber was growing increasingly suspicious of the whole situation. This Servant, Caster, was revealing sensitive information that would normally never be shared, even among Masters who decided to cooperate. (Of which the subject had yet to be mentioned.) _She is obviously up to something...I must keep up my guard,_ she thought.

Rider's suspicions were growing as well. She knew better than Saber what was going on, and it was obvious that Caster had manipulated her Master and Saber's Master into this situation, intending for them to cooperate. What she couldn't understand was _why_ Caster had done so. She could tell from their brief encounter that Saber was indeed a Servant to be feared, but so were she and Caster. They could surely win the War without Sabers' help. _What secrets do you know that would cause you to do this, Caster?_ she wondered to herself.

"I have agreed not to attack you three, but this is only a temporary ceasefire at best. Servants and Masters must fight if they want to win the Holy Grail," Saber pointed out.

"I share the same opinion," Rider agreed.

Shirou and Sakura grimaced. Neither of them could even fathom the idea of standing in each others path, let alone killing the other. The other Servant finally sighed and stood up, folding her arms.

"If it's going to turn out like this, why don't the two of you work together, at least until the War comes down to just you two?" she asked Shirou and Sakura.

"What would be the point of that, Caster?" the unified voices of Saber and Rider cried, while their Masters froze. It was such a simple solution, yet neither of them had come up with it.

Shirou turned to Sakura, and she nodded.

"Well, that makes it official than. You got that you two?" Caster asked the two opposed Servants, who merely grunted that they understood.

Shirou than remembered the issue that still had to be addressed.

"Well than, what do we do about Fuji-Nee? Do you have any ideas on how to explain this to her, Sakura?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, I don't have a clue what to do about Fujimura-sensei, Sempai."

Both of them began to think hard of a solution, while the tension between Saber and Rider steadily increased. Trying to quickly defuse the situation before the two came to blows, Caster once again added her input.

"I can modify her memory to suit whatever story we come up with, but I have an idea," she said. A plan had formed in her mind, and she smirked. "This place seems to have been an inn in the past, right boy?"

_Shirou flinched. Continuing to be called 'boy' isn't a good thing. I'd better introduce myself,_ he thought.

"Um, my name is Emiya Shirou, but yes, my home was an inn before father acquired it."

"Than how about I make this woman believe that you decided to re-open this place as an inn, and Sakura and we Servants would be your guests?"

_BGM: Time Together - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Saber and Rider were a little surprised, but that was to be expected. They did not realize just how outrageous Casters' suggestion truly was.

Shirou and Sakura, however, froze and blushed deeply.

"W-w-what?!? I can't do that!" Shirou shouted.

"Why not, Emiya-kun? If we decide to cooperate, than it would be logical to stay together in the same location, wouldn't it?" Caster asked, still smirking.

"But, but all of you are women! I can't run this place like an inn if all of the guests are female!" _People will think that I'm running a brothel or love hotel if I do something like that!_ he desperately thought.

"What? You're afraid people will think you are running a brothel or love hotel if they hear?" Caster asked as Sakura blushed even more furiously.

"N-no! Anyway, I can't do it, and I won't!" Shirou stated.

Caster frowned. "Eh? Than tell me what else you can think of that would be better, _boy_."

Shirou flinched. He had nothing better to suggest, and he was sure Caster knew it, and slumped forward with a sigh, signifying his defeat. _This War is nothing but trouble for a guy like me..._

_BGM: Gentle Everyday - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

After their encounter with Caster earlier in the day, Rin was so frustrated that she had walked around Shinto for the rest of the day in an attempt to cool off, Archer following her in spirit form. The fact that she and Archer had been defeated so easily and learning that he was a magus rather than a real Archer had really pissed her off, but that irritation had somewhat lessened by the time they had arrived back at the Tohsaka mansion. At least, until she had gotten close enough to realize what was wrong with her home: nothing. None of the mansions wards or defenses had been so much as spat upon, and Rin realized that she had been duped by Caster from the very beginning.

Archer, who had materialized beside Rin when they had arrived, felt the flare-up in his Master and he immediately faded back into spirit form. He had grown tired of Rin's day long tirade of questions and insults she had thrown at him as she walked through town. She also had apparently forgotten that he was in spirit form a few times, as he noticed many people giving her strange looks since it looked to them that she was shouting at someone who wasn't there, and he had to calmly remind her when she eventually paused. It would have been fine had he not had to repeat the process four more times throughout the day though.

Finally pushed completely over her limit, Rin let loose inside the safety of her home, and took a deep breath.

"I-"

**"HATE THAT DAMNED SERVANT!!!"** she roared.

She bellowed so loudly that several paintings (which Archer painstakingly recalled that he had hung back up the night of his summoning) dropped off the wall and made cracking thuds on the floor.

"...Rin, I shall prepare some tea," Archer said, hoping to soothe the savage beast.

"...Don't screw up, 'Archer',"was her response.

"..." Archer said nothing, but made his way to the kitchen. After a few minutes he returned and held out a cup for his agitated Master. She took it from him and took a sip.

"..." She nodded to show her approval. _He may be an arrogant and lying idiot, but he does know how to prepare tea._ She set the cup down and looked up at her Servant.

"So, Archer. Ready to tell me your origins yet?" she asked.

While he had refused to answer the question the entire day, he knew that eventually he would have to, for Rin would not use up her second Command Spell for another situation that wasn't important for the War, but she would continue to ask him about it until he had done so. Therefore he had spent the day crafting a story in his mind that would be acceptable, although he kept getting sidetracked due to Rins' irresponsibility while walking around. He took a deep breath and sighed before he began his Traced lie.

_BGM: Into the Night - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"It is true that as of this date there is no magus that can use Projection as I can. What does that mean to you, Rin?" he asked.

"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you, idiot. If I already knew I wouldn't have walked through Shinto all day, and it's _your_ fault I didn't know in the first place. You know _exactly_ who you are and deliberately chose not tell me, to _lie_ to me," she spat out.

"Yes, I did, and for good reason. Do you remember how the Grail summons us heroic spirits?"

"Of course, the Grail calls forth heroic spirits from the past to suit the role of the Servants to win the Holy Grail War," she answered, not understanding where Archer was going with his story.

"That is normally the case. However," he started, and stared directly into Rins' the eyes. "As heroic spirits transcend time itself, what rule is there that heroic spirits that do not yet exist cannot be summoned into the past?"

Rin gasped. "I...I never thought of that," she admitted.

Archer nodded. "Because of that, I cannot give you my name. However," he raised his voice as he noticed Rin was about to shout at him again. "the reason for that is simple. I did not lie completely when I said I could not remember who I was. I do know that, but the name I was given I cannot remember. I have not yet been born, therefore I have no name in this world. Any that I will earn have been stripped from me because I have not earned them yet, nor can I earn them here." He paused a second to gather his breath. "So, Rin, please be content with the fact that 'Archer' is as real a name as I will ever have during this War," he finished.

Rin had expected a lie from Archer no matter what his story, but the one he gave her was so unbelievable that she couldn't help but feel that Archer had listened to her and told her the truth. However, a realization hit her.

"Archer, if that's true, than Caster..." she began.

"There can be no doubt. If she knows about me and my abilities, than that means that Caster is a future heroic spirit as well," Archer ended, finally realizing the obvious truth of the mysterious Servant himself. With that shared realization, however, the seed of suspicion he had unconsciously sealed within himself began to grow.

_BGM: Madder Red Town - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Matou Shinji walked home after locking up the Archery Range. He had been the last one to leave for once, for he had needed some time alone to think. Mitsuzuri had told him that if there was anything she could do to help she would. His thoughts kept circling around a set of individuals: his sister, Sakura; her Servant that had threatened him, Caster; his grandfather; and the man who considered him his friend, even after all of the horrible things he had done to him, Emiya Shirou. _I really am a pathetic fool,_ he thought to himself. _Ever since I learned of it, all I've ever wanted was to be able to use magic. Than I learned that the Matou bloodline had basically died with father, and all that was left for me was the knowledge, but with no ability to use it. When Sakura had come, I thought that somehow Grandfather was going to use her to bring magic back to our family, and I would finally have a chance to use magic myself...but when I found out what he planned to do to her..._ he fell to his knees in front of him, the taste of bile filled his mouth as he vomited eleven years worth of pain and guilt onto the cold, unforgiving pavement. _It wasn't right, but I just didn't care! She continued to show me kindness even after she found out what purpose she was meant for, and that I would never be able to use magic, and I did those terrible things to her!_ He felt the tears as they ran down his face and onto his hands, which were grasped so tight that even his knuckles were turning white. _I'm the worst brother there could ever possibly be. Maybe the Matou bloodline completely dying out isn't such a bad thing after all,_ he thought. _Grandfather told me that there are plenty of magi who would kill to be in our situation, to be able to return to a normal life._ He paused for a second, and finally realized. The life he had been living really was a normal life. The time he spent at home with Sakura and his Grandfather notwithstanding, Shinji recalled the time he spent at the Archery club, the time spent with Emiya, the time spent chasing (unsuccessfully) after Tohsaka. He truly appreciated the life he had lived up until now, and he muttered a phrase into the wind, knowing that he didn't deserve forgiveness, but he hoped for it, as all humans do.

"I'm so...so sorry, Sakura."

Shinji stayed crouched on the ground for about five more minutes before he picked himself off of the ground and continued on toward his home, only pausing to pick at a bruise he did not remember having yesterday. _Hmm, I must have got it during Archery. I did cut my cheek earlier, so I probably burned my wrist on the bowstring as well._

_BGM: Quiet Voice - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

_It wasn't her fault,_ Sakura thought. She could never have dreamed, let alone know, that events would turn out like this. For ten years she fought together with a man with white hair, always on the run, always hiding, any victory they achieved merely a minor one at best. One morning she had woken up and found a note where he should have been. She cried out in despair, and rushed to where she knew he must be. She found him, broken upon the numerous blades of their enemy as he cackled loudly amidst the insanity. The woman, having lost the one thing had been clinging to, broke completely. By the time she was self-aware again hours later, there was only one thought burning in her consciousness, and that is why Matou Sakura wept for the woman in front of her.

The magus faded from Sakura's view, but new images flashed within her mind. Some were familiar, others were unknown to her. But in all of them she saw the man in red with white hair, his back turned to her; although at times it seemed bright red rather than snowy white, almost like..._Who is he?_ she wondered. As if he had heard her, the man slowly turned to face her. But rather than the man's face, there was a long straight blade, a sword. There was nothing special upon on it, no engravings adorned the blade or hilt. It was as if it had just been forged within the fire...a fire that engulfed the land. She was wandering through the charred landscape, the entirety of her being burning. She could not breathe, she could not see, but still she struggled forward, searching desperately for a way out of hell. She collapsed, and rain began to fall, slowly dousing the terrible inferno. The image of a man loomed in front of her as she stared up at the sky, and he held out his hand for her, which she took. And so the sword had found it's Master.

**End Chapter 6**

Chapter 7 Preview

**Cobalt Vindicator**

The trapped Master is freed,

A blackened soul retaliates by doning a pale mask.

Another Master meets his demise

As another emerges to take his place.


	8. Cobalt Vindicator

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to _Fate/Stay Night_, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 7: Cobalt Vindicator**

_BGM: Akogare no Yuutousei - Fate/Stay Night the Animation_

Fujimura Taiga had a strange dream. She had seen a girl somehow adorn a set of silver armor in front of her, than race off at a speed exceeding that of humans inside Shirous' home. But that was impossible; no one can do that, that's why it was a dream. That is why when she woke, she wasn't surprised to see Sakura and Shirou there to greet her.

"Ah, morning Fuji-Nee. You really shouldn't fall asleep on the floor like that, have you been sleeping alright?" Shirou asked her.

"Eh? On the floor?" Taiga asked, confused, but she immediately hopped up from the couch she had apparently been placed upon. "Silly Shirou, I wouldn't fall asleep like that because of over exhaustion; It would have to have been because I hadn't eaten!" she proclaimed. As if to prove her right, Taigas' stomach rumbled loudly.

"Ah! I'm starved! Let's eat!" she said as she dashed for the dining room, a look of expectation on her face.

"Wait, Fuji-Nee!" Shirous' voice yelled after her, but she ignored him. She could smell food from the dining room, and may she be forgiven for what might happen to anyone who got between her and her target. But when she got to the door of the room, she froze. There were already two beautiful women she had never seen before and a girl who looked oddly familiar sitting near the table.

-BGM fade out

Tick.

Tick.

**Crack.**

**"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE, SHIROU?!?"** Taiga screamed, running at and pinning Shirou to the wall. (And at a speed that surprisingly surpassed even her own, Rider noted)

"C-Calm down, Fuji-Nee!" was all that Shirou could say as he struggled to breath. _What the hell! I thought that Caster had Fuji-Nee believe she had accepted this!_

He glanced over at Caster, and was annoyed to see her smiling wickedly, and the truth dawned on him. _That witch! She didn't do it yet on purpose!_

_Fufufu, I knew that waiting to modify Fujimura-Sensei's memories would be a good show,_ Caster stifled a laugh, quite pleased with herself. _But, it seems that she isn't taking this as well as I thought she would. Guess I'll save him again...and make sure Fujimura-Sensei doesn't recognize me._ She pointed at the raging tiger, _"Speicher andern."_

_BGM: Surrounded by Smiling Faces - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Taiga paused, and slowly lowered Shirou to the ground.

"Eh? Why was I holding you like that Shirou?" she asked, confused. Than she glared at him. "Never mind! You should have told me earlier that you were going to reopen this place as an inn!"

"Uh, yeah, I kind of promised Father that I would someday," Shirou told his prepared part of the story. "It was kind of sudden, but as you can see I already have my first guests," and he gestured towards the three female Servants.

Taiga turned to the three women. "Oh! Pardon me for being rude, this was kind of sudden for me."

All three sweat-dropped before one of the guests replied, "It's alright, Fujimura-san."

Taiga jumped. "Gyah! How do you know my name?"

"Emiya-kun said a loud, rambunctious woman by that name would be here this evening, and I see that he accurately described you," the guest explained with a small giggle.

"Shirou..." Taiga turned back to her charge.

"Ah! Fujimura-Sensei! Please don't do anything more to Senpai, otherwise he won't be able to be a good host for our guests!" Sakura finally spoke up.

"Hmm, that's true. Well, you're off the hook for now Shirou, but dinner had better be exceptionally good tonight!" Taiga said, than realized something. "So, Sakura-chan, why are you here than?"

"Um...I'm," Sakura fumbled with her words.

"I think Sakura-san is supposed to be this places' mistress," the same guest answered.

"Ah, that would make sense, she basically lives here already," Taiga said as Sakura blushed furiously. "By the way, I haven't heard your name yet, ma'am."

The guest chuckled. "Well, Emiya-kun said there was to be a rule for this inn when I greeted him. No guests may use their real names, and he assigns us a name when we get here."

Taiga was confused. "Eh? That's a pretty odd rule, Shirou. Why?"

He shrugged. "It's just something that came to mind. I don't want this place to seem like just another inn, and I felt that this would be a way to attract guests."

"Hmm. So, what names do you all have?" Taiga addressed all three women again.

They went down the line. "Caster," the guest whom she had been conversing with said.

"Rider," the woman with long violet hair spoke.

"Saber," the small blonde girl finished.

"Neat! All of those names end in 'er!' Hey Shirou," Taiga turned back to him. "If I stayed here as a guest, what name would you give me?" she asked while smiling brightly at him. Too brightly. As if to say _if you say 'that' name I will_ _kill_ _you._

Shirou, Sakura and Caster sweat-dropped.

"Um, anyway! Lets' eat!" and he changed the subject, escaping to the kitchen.

"Mo! Come back here Shirou!" the would-be-named "Tiger" roared.

_BGM: Midnight Interval - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

As dinner commenced, (and loudly at that, given that there were six people seated instead of the usual three) Caster remembered that she still had something important to take care of, and she had carelessly waited until night to recall it: She still had to remove Zoukens・vile worms infesting Sakura before he realized that she had done so. She turned to Shirou.

"Hey, Emiya-kun. Since we haven't been assigned rooms yet, can I take it that we're free to pick out our rooms?" she asked.

"Hmm, I hadn't think about that," he told her. "Yeah, that would probably be best than."

"Thank you, Emiya-kun," she said, grinning.

Across the table, Sakura was beginning to breathe heavily, her cheeks flushing red. _No...not here...not now! Not around Sempai!_ "Excuse me... I'm feeling...a bit sick," she said as she started to get up from the table, but than collapsed. She would have hit the ground hard, had Rider not bolted from her seat and caught her.

_BGM: Nightmare - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Sakura!" everyone shouted, immediately setting down their bowls.

Sakura continued to breathe heavily and was cringing, letting out short, pained gasps.

"I'll take her to a room in the back, I know a little about first aid," Caster spoke, and she quickly took Sakura from Riders' arms and dashed out of the room, angry with herself since she was pretty sure she knew what the cause for Sakuras' current condition was.

She instinctively ran into Shirous' bare room and laid Sakura down on the futon, sealing the door with her magic as she did so. _I will not be failing Sakura like this again! What happened before was horrible enough, but I won't let this happen to her either!_ she desperately thought.

Caster knew that she didn't have time to remove the worms from Sakura's body, so she would have to achieve her goal by another method: prevent the worms from feasting on Sakura's energy. If she could do it quickly and for long enough, the worms would die from starvation. Considering what she knew of Sakura's memories, she estimated that the worms would probably all be dead by dawn if she took it safe and slow using her own mana and not relying on the Jeweled Sword.

To do so, she would have to disable all of the worms, but delicately, for one mistake and she could permanently disable Sakura by overstressing a nerve or organ. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She was never good at this sort of thing before, but during the hectic years with _him_ she had picked up how to analyze structures and identify any irregularities within them. Ten, thirty, sixty-seven worms were scattered throughout Sakura's body. She plucked a jewel from her dress, and using it she strengthened her internal mana in much the way _he_ would do with anything that had a physical form, and began to pour it into Sakura, encaging and disabling the worms.

_BGM: Whirlpool of Fate - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

As she worked, she felt a presence in front of her. "What do you want, Rider?"

She materialized before Caster, standing against the far wall.

"Surely you didn't think that sealing the door would keep me out. I only want to know what has happened to Master, and what [i]you[/i] are doing to her," she harshly spoke.

"I've got to concentrate here, so I'll keep it short for now. There are..._things_...infested throughout Sakura's body. They constantly feed upon her mana and physical energy, keeping her in a sustained state of weakness. I'm attempting to remove them by force."

"You should have told me this before, Caster," Rider hissed.

"I know. But, I didn't want to trouble you with it. I had intended to remove them from her tonight, but the symptoms hit earlier than I suspected they would."

"Will she be fine after this...procedure?"

"If I succeed, she'll finally be freed from the constant torment she has endured from the Matou family for eleven years," Caster darkly said while scowling.

Rider's eyes widened underneath her mask. "You can't mean..."

"That's why I brought her here. I knew Emiya-kun could be trusted, and I had to get Sakura away from that hell."

Rider wondered how Caster could possibly know that Emiya Shirou could be trusted. She knew now that he could, but that was _after_ she had the opportunity to meet him, and came to understand the type of man he was. But that did not explain Casters' reasoning, since she couldn't have met him until she had. _I must question her later,_ she noted.

"I shall leave it to you than, Caster. I hope Sakura recovers quickly," she added before dematerializing.

Caster let a small smile come to her face as she realized that Rider had finally referred to Sakura by her name instead of the title of Master, but she quickly shook it off. There was still a long night's deal of work to be done, and she couldn't afford to be interrupted anymore.

"And what, may I ask, do you think you are doing?" came the ancient, sinister voice of Matou Zouken. However, it was spoken from _Sakura's_ lips!

Caster kept her poise. "I'm only doing what any sane Magus with their humanity would do. I'm removing these accursed worms from my Master's body."

"This is none of your business, Caster. What happens to this child should not concern you," Zouken said from Sakura's lips. "As a Magus and as a Servant, you will not exist here after the Holy Grail War is over, so why do you care what happens to an insignificant girl such as her?"

_BGM: THIS ILLUSION (instrumental) - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Caster chuckled. "None of my business? You dare to say that interfering in family affairs is not my place? This may surprise you, but I agree."

"Than, why are you doing this, Caster?" Zouken's voice asked in mild irritation.

"The answer is quite simple. I swear, no one uses their brain in this world anymore. If I'm doing this, than that must surely mean that Sakura is as important to me as family."

"That does not make any sen-"

"As I told Shinji last night, I know _exactly_ what you have done to this girl who shares _my blood_ for the past eleven years," she snarled, her anger finally spilling the truth.

"_Your_ blood?! Impossible!" The shock was obvious in Zouken's voice.

"Oh, I think you will find that many things are possible when it comes to the Tohsaka family," she smirked. "I take it that you remember this?" she asked, and the Jeweled Sword took form in her hand.

"_What?!?_ Why do you have that blade?!" Zouken muttered weakly, horrified to see the fabled blade of the Tohsaka progenitor.

"I've already given you the answer, you fool. The Makiri were always the weakest of the three families, and you, Makiri Zouken, shall have a hand in the affairs of Tohsaka no longer!"

Caster concentrated, focusing her will to draw from the Jeweled Swords' ability to borrow mana from the infinite parallel worlds, maximizing her efforts and completely sealing the worm's abilities to feed and transfer energy back to Zouken.

_BGM: Wandering Shadow - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Back in his dark manor, Zouken was consumed with rage.

"**NO!** All of my plans, my work, my _life_! I will not have it spoiled by this...this...damned Tohsaka Servant!!!"

He immediately began to hobble in the direction of the basement. _It seems I have no other option but to bring Assassin forth early. That Servant will pay for daring to cross me, I swear it!_

_BGM: Church on the Hill - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Oh, it seems that all of the Masters are now in play," the overseer of the war, Kotomine Kirei, mused aloud.

"Oh? So that finally means that coward summoned Assassin does it?" The azure knight, Servant Lancer, asked his Master.

"Yes. What will you do now, Lancer?" He turned around, but as he had expected, Lancer had already left, eager to hunt down Assassin and complete the order he had given him with the first Command Spell. He chuckled. "Really, Servants are such useful fools."

"What do you mean by that, Kotomine?" came the cocky tone of the gilded knight. His Servant from the last war, Archer, or as he preferred to be known, Gilgamesh. The King of Heroes and the ruler of ancient Mesopotamia, his legend was the basis upon which all others would come to be based upon.

"Ho, nothing Archer. I know you are above Servants, and I did not include you in my observation," the priest told the King with his back turned.

"So, I take it that with that mongrel's departure that would mean all seven Masters have gathered, correct?"

"Yes, it seems Assassin was finally summoned."

"Than I no longer have any use for you," the King coolly said as he snapped his fingers. The sickening sound of steel rending flesh resounded through the holy halls, and so first blood was drawn in the Fifth Holy Grail War.

_BGM: Midnight Interval - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Lancer was eager to find Assassin, and finally end the terms that bound him by his Masters' stolen Command Spell. _At least thanks to him I knew who the last Master is. I think I'll kill this Master while I'm there for making me wait so long!_ Assassin's Master would be an ancient magus by the name of Matou Zouken. He would have to be a bit cautious around Assassin, but not overly so. After all, the Assassin class' specialty was killing Masters, or Servants stupid enough to be taken by surprise. In actual one on one combat, he guessed that even Caster would be a match for an Assassin, provided she could keep up with him.

As he arrived at the familiar manor near where he had fought Berserker the night before, Lancer felt the joy of battle rising upon him, and he silently slinked into the Matou mansion. He walked confidently down the hall as he searched for his prey.

"Who the hell are you? If you're looking to kill my sister, she left early this morning." A voice that had an obvious hint of bravado called out to Lancer from one of the rooms he had passed. He turned around to see another kid glancing at him with apprehension. He sighed.

"Why do I keep running into kids in this damned War? No matter. I doubt you'll be able to survive like that other kid did!" he shouted, and lunged at the dark-haired boy, who quickly ran back into the room.

Lancer stepped into the room, and almost casually knocked away the chair that the boy had flung at him. "You do have spirit, but you're out of luck kid. Blame your fate if anything," and he raised Gae Bolg to deliver the finishing blow. But before he could, he felt a large pain in his chest.

"W-what?!"

Lancer was confused for a second before he realized that his Master, the priest, was no longer among the living nor the participants in the War. He almost let out a laugh, before he realized what it meant. Without a Master, he would soon fade, and he hadn't even had a proper fight yet with Saber!

"...Kid. You seem to believe that I came here to kill your sister, which I assume must mean she is a Master," he stared at his cowering prey.

"Y-yes, she is. What's it to you?" He shot back defensively.

"It seems a problem just came up for me. My Master has been killed, and if I cannot make a contract with another Master soon, I shall vanish from this War as well."

"What does that have to do with me?" the kid asked.

"If I form a contract with your sister, surely she'll object to me killing you. So," he lifted Gae Bolg away from the kid. "If you bring me to her, I'll spare you now."

The kid seemed to think for a moment before glaring at him.

Fine I'll find her. I think I know where she's gone. There's only one place she goes to other than home."

"Lead on, kid," Lancer snorted, jabbing him with his spear.

As they left the mansion, Lancer faded back into spirit form, following as the kid made his way towards the town crossroads.

_BGM: Footsteps of Destruction - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Ah! It's Lancer again, and this time he brought his Master!" came the familiar voice of a cheerful young girl.

_God damnit. It would figure for this guy to show up again at the worst possible time,_ Lancer thought. Standing before him and the kid were two enemies he had met last night: a small child, and her Servant, the massive Berserker.

**End Chapter 8**

Chapter 9 Preview

**_Gar Eoh Ing_**

Beast vs Giant, Round Two,

Being freed, what claws will the Beast have?

A replacement Master is revealed,

While a King makes his move.


	9. Tiger Dojo Destroyed?

Taiga: Welcome back, everyone, to the Tiger Dojo de-kyaaa!

*Scene brightens to see the dojo completely wrecked. The walls are scoffed up, the floor gouged and covered in blood*

Taiga: Ahhhhhh! My beautiful Tiger Dojo! What happened to you!

Ilya: Ne-Ne, Sensei...

*Ilya appears, dressed in her Heaven's Feel garment*

Taiga: Senior student! What happened to this place while we were gone!

Ilya: Osu! Well, it's natural for a place to become like this when it's been abandoned for months due to "Fate" being finished.

Taiga: How is blood on the floors natural?! Ooh, if I find out who did this...

Ilya: Not to worry Sensei! I already found out!

Taiga: Ah! Such a good student, I love you Ilya-chan! Quick, tell me who!

*Ilya pulls out three photographs from under her crown*

Ilya: I've narrowed it down to the people in these photos, Sensei!

WHACK!

*Giant knot forms in the middle of the crown, like a bird's egg*

Taiga: You told me you already knew who it was, buruma!

Ilya: Ow-ow-ow! I forgot how much that Tora-shinai hurts! Why can't you use a softer shinai, Sensei!

Taiga: Because little girls like you never learn to respect your betters. But the culprit who destroyed out beloved dojo is one of these people?

Ilya: Yes, Sensei!

Taiga: Ohohoho~ Come, senior student! We must discover and disembowel the one who dared do this!

*Taiga yanks Ilyas' arm and pulls her out the door as the photos float to the ground*

First Photo: Ryudou Issei


	10. Tsukihime Guests at Shirous' Inn!

**OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE!**

"Hmm. So, what names do you all have?" Taiga addressed all three women again.

"True Ancester," the blonde woman wearing white and purple said.

"Courier," said the small blue-haired girl with glasses.

"Main Character," the male, also with glasses, finished.

"Wow! So, what are you all doing here?" Taiga asked.

"Shi– I mean, Main Character here wanted to get away from little sister for a while, and I wanted to go with him," the blonde said cheerily.

The blue girl sighed. "And I _had_ to come along; otherwise this idiot here might do something to this guy,"

The main smiled weakly. "Sempai, you don't have to put it like that. Arc– er, True Ancester wouldn't do strange things like…" he paused, than, "…Ok, she would, but still, Sempai!"

The blue-haired girl paused. "Wait! I just recalled something. Sakura-san, are we by chance having curry with dinner?"

"No, Sempai– I mean, Emiya-Sempai doesn't like curry, so I don't cook it.

The girl with glasses' mouth hung open for a second, than…

"**WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DOESN'T LIKE CURRY?! HOW CAN ANYONE NOT LIKE CURRY?!?"**

Taiga roared back.

"**WHAT'S WITH THAT FACE?! IT'S THE SAME ONE I HAVE WHEN SOMEONE CALLS ME TIGER!!!"**

"**YOUR FACE? I USED THIS FACE THREE YEARS BEFORE YOU!"**

Both women were staring at each other, sparks flying.

"Please, both of you calm down!" Shirou and Main Character pleaded with their respective fanatics.

"Haha! Ciel, your face looks funny when you do that!" True Ancester was clutching her sides.

"D-Don't use my real name here Arcueid!" Courier shot back.

*Ding-dong* The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Shirou said, hastily retreating to avoid the scene that was unfolding.

When he opened the door, he found a woman with long flowing red hair.

"Good evening. I recently heard that this place had been reopened, and I'm interested being a guest for the night," she said.

"That's good ma'am. Are you aware of our name policy here?" Shirou asked her.

"Oh, yes. I've even thought of one to use."

"Oh? What would that be?"

"Hunter-Killer," she smiled wickedly, her eyes gleaming.

**OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE!**


	11. Gar Eoh Ing

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to _Fate/Stay Night_, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 8: _Gar Eoh Ing_**

_BGM: Footsteps of Destruction - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Matou Shinji stared at the enormous black behemoth and white child that blocked the path toward his destination. He was no Magus, but he could feel death radiating from the enormous Servant. _I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't have seen this thing. Anyone who sees this thing will die instantly. I should run. I should run. I should-_

"Kheh. You're still wandering out at night, brat?"

That fellow, saying something incredible, caused the fear that had nearly consumed him to dissipate into the night air.

Ilya, however, was not amused.

"And you talk big when you're really weak, Lancer. We both know that you stand no chance against my Berserker, so why don't you and your Master just die quietly?"

"Wait! I'm not a Master!" Shinji said distantly.

"Hm? Of course you are. Your out with your Servant aren't you? What else can you be but a Master?" Ilya responded, unable to comprehend any other situation in which a Servant could be consorting with a human other than their Master. "Although, you don't really feel like one, mister. No wonder your Lancer is weak, I've never met a Master as weak as you!"

Despite the truth, Shinji felt annoyed from the small childs'- no, _brat_ was a better word for her- choice of words.

"What the hell do you-"

"Oy, kid."

Lancer, who had been in front of Shinji, called back to him.

"You know she's right, so just shut up and let me handle this," and he stepped forward, the red spear materializing in his hands.

Shinji was confused. From what he knew about the Grail War from the records he had studied, he knew that Servants were supposed to kill any who saw them. He could understand why Lancer had not killed him as he was valuable to Lancer until he had found another Master. He than realized he had been unconsciously afraid that Lancer would immediately turn and kill him once they had run into this girl, since she was a Master as well, but it seemed that the girl had no interest in Lancer at all. _But still...with things the way they are now, he could easily run off, leaving me to die and still find another Master in time, even if it isn't Sakura._

"Lancer...why are you-"

"Good grief, you're a complete idiot, kid." Lancer turned his head to face Shinji and grinned.

"It's obvious isn't it? Heroic spirits like me aren't the type to leave idiots like you to die like this, so now I've got to do something troublesome to get us out of this mess." He than turned back to Ilya.

"Little lady, I have something to confess. You believe me weak because I had been under the confines of a Command Spell to scout out all of the other Servants' abilities, not fight them. I am now free from that obligation, and really," his face hardened into a scowl. "I've been itching for a fight in which I can finally let loose everything I've got to make up for that humiliation."

"Oh? Well than I'll just see for myself what you'll try this time, even though it won't matter. You can't defeat my Berserker~," she childishly chanted.

"You may have the first move again Lancer, but please don't disappoint me again," she said, than her face narrowed. "Or you'll definitely regret it," she coldly finished.

Lancer scowled. "Damnit, I'm still being taken lightly. In that case, I'll just have to use _that_." He than raised his voice.

"Kid, little lady, I suggest you two get away from here and close your eyes; I won't be responsible for killing either of you if you ignore me."

While Shinji choked, Ilya spoke calmly.

"I don't care, I already know I'll win. I have Berserker with me so I'm not in any danger. Do your worst, Lancer!"

"Fine. I did warn you, little lady," he paused before he yelled out again.

"What the hell are you doing just standing there kid? Didn't you hear what I said?"

"R-right!" Shinji eked, and quickly ran behind a nearby tree and shut his eyes.

Lancer waited until the kid had taken refuge behind the tree, than snapped back to his opponent.

"Yo, Berserker. I know you can't respond to anything I say, but I'll say this once more: Keep your Master back. What I am about to do means death for anyone, and it doesn't have the good sense to discriminate," as the bestial red eyes of Lancer flashed a cold blue.

_BGM: Clashing Souls - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Berserker instinctively leapt in front of his Master, and not too soon, as four stones floated in the air in front of Lancer. There were designs upon them he did not recognize, but he began to feel as if retreat was something that was impossible to consider.

Lancer smirked. He wasn't as fond of using them as he did his spear, but he still had his runes. The combination of these four in particular were favorite.

Algiz, Nauthiz, Ansuz and Inguz. By combining these four runes, they formed the rune word _Athn Gabla_. When invoked, the caster and all who saw the runes would not be able to retreat by any means, and must use every means at their disposal to fight to the death.

Already, Lancer felt the bloodlust bubbling up inside of him to skewer the giant Servant on the end of his spear, but he suppressed the urge. Cool thinking would help him prevail; going berserk in order to fight a Berserker would be foolish and only result in his swift defeat. He did not, however, have any intention of being passive.

Behind Berserker, Ilya was standing there dumbfounded. She could not see the runes just ahead of her because of Berserkers' massive body, but she could feel what it was doing to his psyche: He was going to forcefully enrage. She had always been able to quell the chaotic nature of Hercules' summoned class, but now her attempts to soothe him were having no effect at all!

"Well than," Lancers' eyes reverted back to their bestial red and the runes faded from sight.

"Let's begin shall we, Berserker!" He yelled as he leapt at the giant.

**"--------------!!!!"** was Berserkers' response as he rushed forward to meet his smaller foe.

**CLANG!**

The crimson spear and onyx blade met each other, and almost immediately the spear gave way to the blade and the massive form that wielded it. Lancer should have been instantly cleaved in two, but he was not the fastest Servant for nothing. He quickly rolled forward between the giants' legs and stabbed his spear into his opponents' leg, finally managing to draw blood.

Even with the Command Spell binding his abilities lower than normal, he had still been able to barely avoid Berserkers' blows. That slight advantage was now increased considerably; with every slash Berserker sent at the bestial knight, Lancer avoided them and landed three swift stabs before the giant had even recovered from the previous swing.

After only two minutes, Berserkers' body was caked in fresh blood from numerous wounds, but the dark juggernaut did not slow or show pain. Rather, the drawing of his blood seemed only to fuel the dark rage that had consumed the massive warrior.

**"--------------!!!!"** Berserker roared as he swung his massive blade again and again, trying to rip the speedy Servant in two.

"Damnit, just fall will you!" Lancer growled as he ducked away from another fatal swing aimed for his stomach. He was growing impatient. Any normal opponent would surely have stopped moving and died long ago from the massive blood loss, but Berserker seemed as he was at the beginning of the battle. _Guess I won't be able to beat him by cat and mouse tactics alone. Time to end this!_

As the dark blade closed in on him again, Lancer did not dodge Berserkers' swing; rather he landed _on the blade itself_ and used the momentum of the sword to catapult another leap several hundred meters into the air.

"Let's see you move around after this, Berserker!" Lancer shouted as he reared back and prepared to hurl his demonic spear at his enemy.

"Gae Bolg!" he roared as he threw all of his weight behind the throw.

**"--------------!!!!"** Berserker roared and leapt into the air to catch up to Lancer, who was steadily falling back towards the earth. He ignored the spear, knowing that he had the perfect opportunity to kill his foe now.

The spear pierced Berserker through the heart and continued out his back and stuck fast into the ground below them, and both Servants landed on the ground; one alive, one dead.

"Heh! There's only one beast allowed here, and it's me!" Lancer crowed in victory.

But not for long.

"Are you so sure of yourself, Lancer?" the sweet, melodic voice of Berserkers' Master called.

Lancer turned around, and saw the deceased Servant slowly begin to rise.

"Impossible!" he gasped.

"Oh, don't be surprised Lancer. My Berserker is the greatest hero of Greek mythology, Hercules. Because he was summoned as Berserker, he can only have one Noble Phantasm: God Hand. Berserker effectively has a stock of twelve lives, and must be slain that many times for him to truly be killed," Ilya explained with an impish smile.

"Damned brat," Lancer muttered. _That's why she's so confident she'd win: a Servant that is as powerful as he is with twelve lives is quite formidable indeed._

"That just means I'll have to kill him eleven more times than!" Lancer yelled as he charged at Berserker, who was still reviving, and thus, defenseless. Lancer thrust his spear at the giants' skull.

The spear simply stopped against Berserkers' skin like it was made of paper.

"What the-" Lancer started in surprise, but was too late to notice Berserkers' dark blade aiming for his side.

-BGM fade

"Oh yeah, because of the other effect of God Hand, whenever he's killed Berserker becomes completely immune to any attack by whatever killed him." the child spoke, as if she had just remembered that last detail.

**SLICE!**

**"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"** Lancer screamed in pain, and flew backward, landing hard on the ground as he choked from the blood that had flooded his throat.

"Khuh!" Shinji let out a small grunt of pain from behind his tree as he glanced down at his hand, where the bruise he had was burning.

Somehow, Lancer had managed to avoid losing any limbs or major organs, but his side was burning from the sheer size of the wound. Under normal circumstances, anyone would have attempted to retreat.

_BGM: The Lord of the Dance - Warriors_ (www youtube com/watch?v=BP-l2jaNl_g)

But he could not. He had invoked _Athn Gabla_ at the start of the battle, in an attempt to make sure he was able to kill Berserker here. It had turned out to be the worst thing he could have done. Without a Master to replenish his internal mana stores, Lancer would not have been able to defeat Berserker twelve times, regardless of his immunity to Gae Bolg now or not.

Lancer let out a gasp of pain as he rose, using the spear to force his body to stand. He had gotten himself into this mess, and now he would have to resort to using _it_ to get out of here.

_It_ would likely use up the last of his strength, but he would have to use it.

"Kheh, looks like I won't be able to face Saber or that Caster bitch after all," he smiled bitterly.

"I'm surprised you can stand, Lancer, but this is over. Crush him Berserker," Ilya coldly ordered.

**"--------------!!!!"** The giant roared, and rushed towards the azure and ruby caked knight, who proudly stood his ground.

Three syllables fell from Lancers' lips, and his eyes pulsed blue once again.

**"_Gar Eoh Ing_"** he whispered, the three stones he had only used together once before appeared in front of him, glowing with a deep scarlet light.

For an instant, Berserker paused. The raw magical energy that was flowing from the three stones into his opponents' weapon _frightened_ him.

But it was only for an instant. Berserker quickly shook off the abnormal feeling and continued his charge.

"Heh, you did notice, but still chose to ignore your coming death. So be it, Berserker," Lancer said to no one.

"What are you up to? You can't harm Berserker anymore thanks to God Hand," Ilya spoke, slightly confused.

"Heheheh. What good does a stock of lives do you if the ability that grants it is simply ignored?" Lancer asked before crouching downward again.

The demonic spear swelled with scarlet light until it was almost blinding, and Lancer thrust it at the enraged giant with all of his might.

**"Gae-"**

**"--------------!!!!"** Berserker swung his blade down to end his enemies' life.

Too late.

**"Bolg!"**

**STAB!**

A torrent of crimson rushed forth from Berserkers' body as he fell backward and ceased moving. The burning fire in his eyes cooled to a smoldering ember, than slowly extinguished.

-BGM fade.

"Get up, Berserker!" Ilya yelled. It wasn't possible. Nothing should have been able to get past God Hand, yet Lancer had done so. But it didn't matter; Berserker still had ten lives left. _So why wasn't he getting up?_

Slowly, the truth dawned on her, and she fell to her knees.

"No...no way...Berserker really is...dead?" she asked hollowly, her eyes unfocused and empty. She was _alone_ again.

"Aaahhhhh!!!" Shinji was screaming in pain. The burning on his hand had intensified to the point to where he felt as if a hot poker was being pushed into every nerve in his body.

He rolled on the ground, twitching from the pain. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it felt as if hours had gone by to him. As the pain finally receded, Shinji opened his watery eyes and grabbed at his right hand, where a tattoo-like design was pulsating. Despite the pain, his eyes widened in shock. He recognized what the design was: A Command Spell.

"W-why do I have a Command Spell?" he wondered aloud.

_BGM: The End of Reminiscence - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Heh, another idiot kid as a Master? This war is ridiculously unfair to the younger generation," a familiar voice came from ahead.

Shinji raised his head and lowered his eyes as he realized who was speaking.

"Lancer...thank you."

"Shut up, I don't need your thanks," he weakly responded.

Shinji could feel it: Lancer had exhausted his mana almost completely. He would fade in the next few seconds. Not nearly enough time to make it to Emiya's home.

Lancer grasped the situation quicker than Shinji did, however.

"Oy. Since it seems you're a Master now, how about making a contract with me so I don't fade? You know, since I just saved your ass."

Shinji blinked. His brain was processing too many things at once, and nothing was getting through. He only nodded and asked how he could.

Lancer chuckled. "Nothing. If you're willing that's all that needs to be known. I'll accept you as my Master, kid, but I guess I'd like to know your name first."

Shinji froze, than chuckled himself. "Shinji. Matou Shinji. Pleased to be your Master, Lancer." he said, than froze and dropped to his knees, clutching at his heart.

A new pain was eating at him. It felt as if something was scooping out his organs.

Lancer blinked in surprise.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You're a Master and a Magus, so why the hell are you blocking your Magic Circuits like that?" he asked in utter confusion.

"W-what are you saying? I'm no Magus. I've never even used magic before!" Shinji said as he struggled with the intense pain.

"Well. We're in a bit of a problem than. If we don't fix this soon, I'll continue eating at your soul to sustain myself until you die," Lancer said calmly.

Shinji was shaken, but knew that they still had some time before that happened.

"Than, let's go find my sister. She'll probably know how to fix this," he said as he struggled to his feet, holding a hand out for Lancer, who swatted it away.

"I told you I don't need your pity." Lancer said as he stood up himself.

"Heh, smartass." Shinji replied, as they hobbled down the street, leaving a solitary girl on her knees as she silently mourned the loss of the only being that had cared for her since her traitorous father.

_BGM: Wandering Shadow - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Why...why did you have to die, Berserker...." the pure innocent child uttered brokenly.

A single figure walked up and looked over her.

"So, the container this time is this pathetic wretch? She'll never be suitable to call forth something as magnificent as the Grail. I'll have to find a Magus in which to use in it's place, it seems," he said as he pushed his golden hair away from disturbing the view his ruby eyes beheld. He wouldn't kill the child yet though, since she might have some use, the image of a violet haired girl with matching eyes drifting to the forefront of his mind.

_BGM: Whirlpool of Fate - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

The sword had found its' Master. So, why did the fire continue to burn her? _It burns. It burns. It burns. It burns. It burns._

"It burns!" Sakura screeched out as she awoke from the pain that was ravaging her body, making her claw at herself.

"Shit! I should have known there would have been side effects from her adapting to live with those blasted worms!" Caster shouted in alarm and cursed herself.

Sakura's body had been forced to sustain those worms for eleven years; it would be stupid to expect her to return to normal if the worms were suddenly removed like this. As the worms fed upon her energy for their own nourishment, the host body responded by evolving to produce more and more mana.

Sakura's body could hold perhaps a maximum of two hundred and fifty units of mana, yet because of the worms, she had unconsciously been producing over _five thousand_ units. With the worms gone, her body no longer needed the vast excess of mana, but with no outlet for it, it was building up inside her body, causing her excruciating pain.

Caster did the only things she could: Transfer the massive buildup of mana into her Jeweled Sword, and try to think of a way to stabilize Sakuras' body. As she sat in the darkness thinking, she continued to rip into parallel worlds to release the excess mana. She settled on an instinctive thought. A slim hope, at best, but the only thing she could think of.

She ignored the matters of how long it would last or if it would even work at all, and chipped off a small fragment of the Jeweled Sword and thrust it down Sakura's throat, causing her to convulse as it settled into her body.

Several minutes passed, but Sakura had calmed down and was breathing normally, and she was sleeping, seemingly safe for the moment.

Caster sighed in relief. "It worked...You're free, Sakura," she whispered as she stepped out of the room to let her beleaguered sister rest, a single tear fell from her right eye.

A tear flowed from her sisters' left eye as if in response while she smiled.

_BGM: In the Sunlight - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Caster sighed as she walked slowly back to the living room, where the four others she had left behind were waiting for her.

"Is Sakura alright?" Shirou asked hastily as he stood up.

"She'll be alright Emiya-kun, she just needs some rest," she responded wearily. She felt drained somehow, as if she were leaking mana from her body.

"Caster, I will be talking to you soon about this," Rider said as she stood up and left the room.

"Do you know what happened to Sakura-chan, Caster-san?" Taiga asked.

"Oh, I almost forgot about that," Caster said, and pointed at her. _"Speicher andern."_ And for the third time that day Taiga slumped forward into a forced sleep.

"Fuji-Nee! What the hell was that for?" Shirou angrily asked.

"Idiot, you know that normal people can't know about the Grail War, but before that they can't know about magic either!" she snapped in response.

"Hmph. I know that."

"Than quit being stupid and try to understand the situation at hand, otherwise you'll be an idiot for the rest of your life."

"...Fine," he conceded, and picked Taiga up and laid her on the couch. "Now than, what happened to Sakura?"

"...Aren't you being a little quiet, Saber?" Caster asked the small girl who had not yet questioned her about her sister.

"I do not particularly care. Although we are allies for now, we will eventually be enemies again, and I would not have minded if your Master had perished because of what befell her."

"Saber!" Shirou was shocked. He couldn't see how she could be so cold over another person's dilemma.

Caster, however, sighed.

"I've come to expect that from you, Saber, so I don't particularly mind those harsh words, as you're right after all. But as for what happened," she turned to Shirou and stared him straight in the eyes. "That is not for you to know. It is something for Sakura and Sakura alone to tell you, because you're the damned idiot that's to blame for it."

"What do you mean by that?" Shirou asked, annoyed. He'd never done anything to hurt Sakura, at least that he knew of, so why was Caster accusing him of such a thing?

"Like I said, ask Sakura about it when she's feeling better." She retorted and left the room.

Shirou thought to himself some more. "Just...what did I do?" he wondered aloud, than his stomach gurgled.

"Oh, looks like I'm hungry. Guess I'll make something up. Do you want some food Saber?"

"Yes, food will help me keep up my strength," she answered, and Shirou started to make his way to the kitchen.

*Ding-dong* But the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be at this late hour?" Shirou asked, and turned around and headed for the front door.

Saber sat down and relaxed a little. _Really, Shirou is too naive. Caster is more than she appears to be, yet Shirou-_

_BGM: Nightmare - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

She froze. It was faint, but she felt the presence of a new Servant, and it was coming from the front door.

"Shirou!" Saber shouted as she rushed for the door.

Shirou opened the door and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw who was there.

"Shinji! What happened to you?" he asked, as Shinji looked as if he had been through hell.

"Yo, Emiya. Is my sister in?" Shinji asked before he fell forward, having fainted.

Shirou quickly moved forward to catch him, but paused as he than noticed the other all too familiar person who had caught his friend, and instinctively took a step back.

"You!"

"Yo, brat." Lancer weakly smirked.

"Shirou!" came Sabers' voice as she rushed toward the door.

"Wait, Saber! I know who he's with!" he pleaded.

"But Shirou-!" Saber protested.

"No harming either of them. I'll remind you again that I'm not killing anyone who's not attacking innocents or after me, and to be honest, I don't think Lancers' in the position to kill anyone." He stated what he thought.

"Kheh, I could still kill you easily, brat." Lancer muttered.

"And you would die before you could pierce Shirou, Lancer." Saber narrowed her eyes at the man she had fought off last night.

"We can argue later, I'm not in the mood." Lancer growled. "So, are you going to invite us in or what, brat?"

Shirou gulped. He was still frightened of the Servant, even if he didn't look very threatening with the large gash in his side.

"C-come right in."

_BGM: Majutsushi - Fate/Stay Night the Animation_

Shinjis' consciousness was falling. Falling, falling, falling downward. He lost track of time as he fell, wondering when it was going to end. Than, suddenly, it did stop. Flat on his face. He slowly picked himself up, and raised his head, and let out a gasp. Standing in front of him was someone he had never expected to see again. So, it couldn't be him.

The figure in front of him spoke.

"How you doing, my useless son?"

"F...Father?"

**End Chapter 8**

Chapter 9 Preview

**The Eighth Master**

The son learns the truth hidden by his father,

A new resolve is born through pain and anguish.

The Red Knight and Genius Master learn their foes' bane,

And the Pawns continue to move.


	12. The Eighth Master

Wow, I didn't notice until now, but this actually turned out to be the longest Chapter.

I hope this Chapter seems alright, what with the dynamic break I had from writing this. (I initially started, than stopped right after the first section because of tons of crap nailing me, including work, the Navy, family problems, and a few other things that kept me from having any meaningful free time for about a month. Thankfully I've gotten all of that behind me, so I've got my free time back, and time to start on Chapter 10!

Also, I thought of this while writing the fight, but it hit me there is no official name for Rider's daggers, nor has anyone else given them a name, so I finally did so and named them Widow's Fangs. Hope everyone approves that. If not, poo on you. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Fate/Stay Night, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 9: The Eighth Master**

_BGM: Majutsushi - Fate/Stay Night the Animation_

Shinji could not believe who he was seeing. Before his eyes stood his deceased father, Matou Byakuya. He stood frozen as his father looked him over.

"Hmm. Looks like you've turned out alright. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but you'll come around eventually," he said.

"Father...how is this possible?"Shinji asked breathlessly.

"Oh, this?" Byakuya gestured to the space around them. "This is not real, neither myself nor this place. As to why, well, I have a message to pass onto you in case you ever got tangled up in the family affairs due to magic after all."

Shinji felt that what his father was about to say would be a point of no return, but he needed other answers first. "What are you saying, father?"

"I thought that since I was born with such insignificant Magic Circuits that the Makiri bloodline - no, the Matou bloodline - would surely die out with any children I produced. However, I was not to be granted with such fortune. There is a saying, Shinji. 'Blood always finds a way,' and it definitely did so in you. When you were born, I despaired when I discovered the Circuits you had been granted, while Zouken was both elated and, surprisingly, afraid. Your mother and I knew right away that he would twist you as early as he could to do his bidding for that cursed desire of his." Byakuyas' face scrunched up in pure loathing.

Shinji however, staggered as if he had been punched by an American boxer.

_I..._have _Magic Circuits?_

"But that's impossible!" he said quietly. "I've tried for years! I've tried doing countless times with what our grimores had recorded in them, but nothing, not even a spark, so much as came from within me!"

"No, I should not expect that anything would have happened. After all, I sealed them shortly after you were born, before that bastard could stop me." His father responded.

"How?!? The Matou magic is rooted in absorption, not sealing! Besides, you were such a pathetic man and Magus that you could never have accomplished something like that!!"

Shinji realized that he was shouting and that tears had come to his eyes.

His father looked at him with sorrow. "...I should have known Zouken would have said such things about me, even though they are true. It _was_ impossible for me, a total failure of a human being and a Magus, to be able to seal what you had so completely, to where you would never feel anything if you tried to use magic."

"Than how did my Circuits come to be sealed?!?" Shinji thundered.

"Three days after you were born, I was walking through the park in Shinto, and I stopped and rested on a bench, thinking about what to do to prevent Zouken from getting to you. I knew it was pointless, but I had to think of something. Than, someone said that I looked like I about to fall apart. I looked up to see an old man standing a few feet away, glancing at me with smiling eyes. I said nothing at first, annoyed at what he had said, but something about him intrigued me, and I asked him to sit. We ended up talking about many useless things, such as the weather, the political situation at the time, other things. But than, out of the blue he offered his aid with my problem. I, of course, jumped up in shock, which he apparently found amusing as he began to chuckle. "How do I know?" he asked me. I could only nod. "It does not matter. Know only that I can seal your sons' Circuits if you so wish so that he may never feel anything of magic, even if he attempts to use it." I asked who he was, and he smiled and replied that he was just 'a meddling old man who did what he wished.' He only made one demand when he made his offer, to impart a message to you should you ever become involved in the Holy Grail War our family seems to be inevitably involved with, which is why I have appeared like this before you."

"...What message might that be, Father?" Shinji spoke, his voice quaking in either fear or hatred, he wasn't sure which.

"Just these words: Boy, if you feel that you need magic in order to accomplish what you feel impossible, you are wrong. Outside of this closed world of magic, ordinary people do ordinary things and make their dreams and wishes come true. By sealing your Circuits in accordance with your fathers' wishes, I hope you will come to experience these things for yourself, and that you can accept the world as it is without magic. Before we are Magi, we are all human, and we should remember our boundaries, and to only do what we can."

Shinji was speechless. Sure, he had grown up without magic, but he had never experienced a world where he had been truly away from it, thanks to his grandfather...

_Grandfather..._

"Shinji, I know that you must be angry with me for having your potential as a Magus sealed, but I did it for you. The Makiris' time has passed. We have a new name, and for the future of the Matou bloodline I hope that you can find a way to forgive me."

Shinji was as still as a statue for a long time. Than, his fist started shaking, followed by the rest of his body.

"Damnit, old man! I can't hate you for sealing my Circuits if it was for a reason like that!!" he howled as tears streamed across his face.

Byakuya flinched, as he closed his eyes and smiled.

"Thank you, Shinji. You know what must be done, do you not?" he said.

Shinji knew. In order to secure the Matou future for himself and Sakura, the remnants of the Makiri would have to be cut away completely.

"Yes. Grandfather must be dealt with so that he no longer controls the Matou future."

Shinji than felt his head becoming lighter, and he almost fell over.

"What is...?"

When he looked back, his father was gone. In his place stood an old man. Shinji felt his face twist in shock.

"You look like you've seen a ghost boy," the old man said calmly, his eyes twinkling.

Shinj flinched. "How-"

"How did I know? It does not matter. What does matter is that you pass on something to a stubborn girl we know."

Shinji was silent as he took in the old mans' words.

"And, just who am I supposed to tell this to?" Shinji asked.

"You already know, Matou Shinji." was the last he heard from the old man before he passed out, as the image a woman he had recently met flashing through his mind.

_BGM: Surrounded by Smiling Faces - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Shinji slowly opened his eyes, blinking fiercely as the sun shining in through the window quickly blinded him. Once his eyes had adjusted, he noticed six faces surrounding him, and immediately let out a yell of surprise. Some of them were familiar, while some... _Ok, there's Emiya, Sakura, Caster and Lancer...but who are the other two?_

"What...what..."

"Ah, Nii-san, good morning," Sakura greeted him, looking relieved.

"Uh, good morning Sakura," he greeted her back, than turned to his friend. "You too, Emiya."

"Morning, Shinji. You really were out of it. Lancer and I had to bring you in after you fainted." Shirou informed him.

"Kheh, I could have done it by myself kid," came the annoyed voice of Lancer.

"I still do not approve of you doing this Shirou," the blond girl Shinji did not know huffed. _And, why was she wearing armor?_

"Nor do I," came the unified voices of Caster and the other woman, who had long, trailing violet hair. She looked annoyed, (although he couldn't be sure as she had some kind of veil or blindfold over her eyes) while Caster was clearly emitting an intent to kill.

"So, what happened to you Shinji? Lancer wouldn't tell us anything," Shirou asked.

"Uh, Emiya...when did you get so popular?" he answered.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Caster sighed before answering in his place.

"He's obviously referring to there being more people here than there should be."

"Hmm? Who's here that he didn't expect to find?" Shirou asked.

"Jeez, you're so damn thick! Saber and Rider, you dumbass!"she yelled.

Shinji finally realized his situation with those two names.

"Saber? Rider? Emiya, you surely can't be..." he trailed off.

"Yeah, I'm a Master too." Shirou responded. "I'm just an amateur Magus that somehow got mixed up in this, but don't worry. I know what's expected of Masters in this War, but I'm above killing others needlessly."

"But, than why do you have two Servants?" he asked.

Shirou's face went a little red.

"Two? No, I only summoned Saber, and as I said that was completely by accident."

"Than who summoned Rider?" Shinji asked, puzzled.

Caster sighed again.

"I did, but I botched the summoning and she ended up having Sakura as her Master," she answered, than narrowed her eyes. "But enough about that. What I want to know is how the hell you formed a contract with Lancer, since you don't have any sense of magic or any Magic Circuits."

"...Yeah, about that..." Shinji started, than shared with them all the experience he had just had while he had been unconscious, but he left out the part about the old mans' message; he would have to relay it to her later when they were no other distractions.

_BGM: Whirlpool of Fate - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Caster was floored by what Shinji had said. Coupled with Sakura recovering much more quickly than she first estimated and that she was still mentally drained from having to restoring her, she was considerably stressed over events that should not have happened. Granted, she knew she was responsible for Sakura, but she had no answer for what had become of Shinji.

She was sure that the 'old man' could be none other than her former master, but the real question was _why_ he would even bother to seal Shinji's Magic Circuits. (Which she still could not believe) It was the way he did things, things that made no sense to anyone other than himself, but she could usually gleam something in his methods. But not this time. Perhaps there was something more, but she would have to talk to Shinji alone, lest anyone else hear something they should not. She than realized an inconsistency in Shinjis' tale.

"You said you had this experience after fainting when you got here. But, what was your purpose for coming here?" she asked, keeping her stony facade in place.

Shinji blinked as he recalled why he had come with Lancer in the first place. He was not looking forward to asking such a selfish request of his sister. They may not be blood-related, but Sakura had always treated him as family.

"My relationship with Lancer is not that long, to be honest. Earlier tonight he invaded our home looking to kill you I believe, Sakura."

"Actually I was at your place to kill someone named Zouken, but I ran into you first and- hey, why do you all look like that?" he paused after he saw that Shinji, Sakura, and Casters' faces had darkened.

"You were there to kill grandfather?" Shinji asked as Sakura stayed silent. "But why? He's not directly involved in the Grail War this time."

"Actually, Matou Zouken _is_ a Master." Caster spoke to everyone's surprise.

"Why do you know that, Caster?" Shinji questioned her.

"He all but admitted he had summoned Assassin in the Third and Fourth Wars, so I was fairly certain he would be Assassins' Master again. Since every other Servant is accounted for, it would seem he has finally joined the game," she concluded. "But we are getting off topic. I asked what your reason was for coming here, Matou-kun, and I don't like it when the subject is changed..." she hissed.

"Sorry. Well, after Lancer had arrived I ran into him. Since no one else could possibly have had business at our home, I thought he was a Servant who had come to kill Sakura, so I told him he was wasting his time."

"And than he turned to kill you, because you exposed yourself to him like an idiot," Caster snorted.

Shinji winced. "In hindsight, yes that is what happened. As he was about to kill me though, it seemed that someone had killed his Master."

Caster flinched. Kirei was gone this early? He was surely the first one than, unbelievable!

"Lancer than offered me a deal. If I led him to Sakura so he could form a contract with her, I would live, since he doubted that a Master would willingly kill their brother who stupidly got himself mixed up in this mess," Shinji sighed.

"But you formed a contract with Lancer before this, and gained a Command Spell as well-" Caster started, but Lancer interrupted.

"Damnit woman! Stop interrupting the kid! He'll get to everything soon enough, so shut up already!"

The air seemed to instantly chill as Caster turned on the armored spearman.

Twitch.

"You know, I seem to recall that you said you would kill me the next time we met..."

"Ah, I did. But you won't kill me. I know the killers when I see them," he smirked. "And you aren't one of them."

"Are you an idiot? One does not become a Heroic Spirit without spilling any blood!"

"Please, stop fighting!" Came the surprisingly annoyed voice of Sakura. "Nii-san is sharing with us what happened, and both of you are being childish!"

Caster, Shinji and Shirou gawked; Lancer grunted.

_BGM: The End of Reminiscence - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Um...ok...Well, on the way here..." Shinji continued his story, sharing with them all how they had run into Berserker and his Master, and how Lancer had defeated him.

**"What?!?"** came the unified yells of Shirou and Saber.

Caster was thunderstruck, yet she somehow kept her silence. She recalled the previous afternoons' conversation about not going out alone and Sakura using a Command Spell on her, and did not want to see it a second time if she revealed she knew about Berserker. Still, for Lancer to be able to kill Berserker twelve times without a Master was extremely impressive.

"That spear of yours was able to take down Berserker?" Shirou asked in wonder.

"Of course. My spear pierces the heart everytime. You should remember that kid, since I killed you and used it on Saber," Lancer smirked.

"As I recall, both of us were able to avoid that particular fate," Saber added, annoyed.

"Anyway," came Casters' irritated hiss. "So, you managed to kill Berserker, big deal. What. **Happened.** **_Afterward._**

"I'll say it, since it seems your scaring the kid to death over there," Lancer butted in. "After finishing that monster, I was all but drained. I thought I was a goner than, but the kids' Command Spell appeared and I asked him to form a contract with me. Although it worked, with his Magic Circuits apparently sealed by some old geezer I've never even heard of I'm forced to leech off his life-force since he can't supply me with mana properly."

"But that means that Nii-san will die if we don't do something!" Sakura exclaimed.

"That's why we came here, Sakura." Shinji finished.

Caster groaned.

"Jeez, it's like another pair of Shirou and Saber, only a lot messier," she quietly muttered to herself.

"Well, can anything be done to help Shinji?" Shirou asked.

"Well...I know of one way that might work. But..." Shinji trailed off and glanced at Sakura.

When she saw this, Caster realized his method and exploded.

**"You spineless bastard!! You dare to even think of that possibility after all you've done to her?!? I'm going to kill you!!"**

_BGM: Today's Meal - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Sakura protested and held onto Caster as Shirou started to pull Shinji out of the room and away from the enraged Servant

_Good grief! What could Shinji have said or suggested to outrage Caster so?! And why is Sakura blushing?_

Saber looked at Lancer curiously. He was not going to his Masters' aid.

"Why aren't you helping your Master? Caster looks like she's ready to kill him."

"I'm too weak to do anything as it is, so why would I get in-between an enraged female magus and her target, even if it is my Master?" Lancer responded with a wave of his hand. "Also, even if I did make a move, this annoying woman would just get in my way again," tossing his head in Rider's direction, who was continuing to her self-appointed role of sentry, not caring one way or the other who said what.

Saber paused for a moment, than turned away.

"You're a coward."

"No, I just have way too much experience from being in my Masters' situation myself," Lancer smiled.

_BGM: Fear Flow - Chaos;Head Original Soundtrack_

As Shinji continued to cower, something struck Caster. An ideal situation had appeared, and she would be foolish to not take advantage of it. As such, she calmed herself and stepped back.

"I still don't like how this happened, but I believe I can be of some help. But only because Sakura would be distraught if something happened to you and she couldn't do anything about it," she added when she saw Shinji and Sakuras' eyes widen.

"You," she turned to Lancer. "If the problem between the two of you is that you can't access his mana to provide nourishment for yourself, than all that needs to happen is to establish a new link with someone else."

"Oh? Does that mean what I think it means Caster?" The man in blue asked coyly as he licked his lips.

"Unfortunately for me, it does," Caster affirmed with a frown. "So come with me, and we'll get this over with." She grabbed Lancer and began to pull him out of the room, but stopped and turned back. "If anyone follows, I will make sure they will regret it."

Shinji cowered again while Shirou, confused once more, called after Caster.

"Hey Caster, what do you mean by-!!" he began, but his breath froze as Caster turned around and threw him a gaze that could only be interpreted as 'I will kill you if you finish that sentence.'

_BGM: Wandering Shadow - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Gilgamesh grimaced as he walked on a nightly street, observing the nightlife. He had done this many times before over the past ten years, but it still repulsed him everytime. _This is 'civilization?' Bullshit! No one has a damn inkling about how to survive! None of them deserve their lives. Humans have grown decadent and complacent, so it falls to me to remind these mongrels they are mere peasants before true Kings!_

_BGM: In The Sunlight - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Caster sat up and sighed. Despite all that had happened over the past day, she felt strangely refreshed. As she recalled what she and Lancer had done only a short while ago, she smiled and let out a short laugh. _Perhaps it is because of him...he wasn't bad, after all._

"Oh? That good was I? Well it's only to be expected," came the voice of the taught-muscled man beside her.

Twitch.

**SMACK!**

"Jeez! What the hell was that for?" Lancer asked angrily as he held his head.

"For being rude. Do it again and it'll be those next time."

Lancer felt like arguing some more, but knew there was a more pressing matter.

"Caster, tell me one thing. Why did you agree to help me? You can make all the excuses you want about not wanting to cause your Master any grief, but if I were you I wouldn't give a damn, so tell me the real reason you helped me."

Caster sighed again. "Damn, I didn't think you would see through it this quickly. I'll keep it short than. By doing so, I've basically made sure that you can't kill me."

"Oh? How do you figure that? We are both Servants in this War, and I could kill you at any time."

"But you can't," she smirked as she turned around to face him. "For several reasons. First, our Masters are siblings, and neither will want to fight the other, and would use their Command Spells to prevent us from doing so if even if we wanted to. Second, I'm the one who supplies you with mana now. If you tried to impale me on that spear of yours I would cut you off instantly, and than you'll be right back to feeding off of Shinji."

"Kheh, smart witch. Are you that afraid of me?"

"Let's just say I have no desire to die to that spear of yours a second time."

"Eh? Hold a minute now. For you to become a heroic spirit, you would have to be quite notorious indeed. You claim to have been killed by me, but I don't remember you at all!"

"So? I remember you. It's not my fault your brain is selective in the way it works."

"Why you-!"

"Enough, Lancer. I think it's time we got back to our Masters, since I believe I hear them shouting," Caster said as she got up. She snapped her fingers and her dress materialized on her once more, and she left the room.

"Kheh," Lancer muttered as he stood up, his armor materializing itself back into place as well. "I don't know about when she was alive, but it looks like I did manage to 'impale her on my spear' again," he said to no one as he smiled, than materialized his spear and thrust into into the breast of a small, jeweled bird figurine, which immediately turned into shattered fragments.

_BGM: Whirlpool of Fate - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Tohsaka Rin and Archer stood clueless. After Rin had gone over the information that her jeweled familiar had uncovered, she was quite lost. Archer had no answers for her, as he was lost from the moment he heard Lancer mentioned. That meant that Kotomine was dead, or acting very strangely. _No, no matter the universe and/or timeline, Kotomine Kirei would never ally with Emiya Shirou. He's dead._ Archer confirmed. That of course left the question of who killed him, and from what he heard it wasn't Caster, her Master, or whomever was now Lancers' Master. Emiya Shirou and Saber were out of the question, as he was too stupid to try. That left whoever Rider was this time, Berserker, or Gilgamesh, but he could not be sure who.

To add insult to injury, he and Rins' theory on Caster being a heroic spirit from the future had seemingly been shattered by Casters' admission that she had been killed by Lancer. If she had been a heroic spirit from the future and knew of him and his abilities, than she would have had to have lived past the time of the Grail War in his time, so Lancer couldn't have killed her than.

As always, Rin cracked first.

"Aaaaaaahhh! Damnit! This makes no sense at all!" she yelled in frustration and kicked a nearby stool across the room.

"I understand your puzzlement Rin, but there is surely something to be gleamed by all of this," Archer said as he returned the stool to it's former position. "Look at what we have discovered thanks to your brilliant idea of leaving a familiar at Emiya Shirous' home. We've learned that Emiya Shirou has allied himself with two other Masters because Lancer and Caster are there. Lancer has changed Masters', and that their Masters are both siblings.

"Yes, but we don't know the important stuff like who they are, why they are cooperating with Shirou instead of killing him, and now our theory about Caster looks like Swiss cheese!" Rin exclaimed in exasperation.

Archer sighed. "Rin, perhaps it would be best if I left to do more reconnisence there. You only left one familiar there, and with it now gone it would be wise to do so as we still need more information.

Rin grew even more annoyed, but that was because Archers' suggestion made sense. They still didn't have very much information on Caster at all, and now that she was working together with Shirou, Saber, and Lancer, they were quite a formidable force.

"Go on ahead than, just don't get yourself killed. There's three Servants over there now."

"Of course, Rin," Archer said before he vanished into the night.

_BGM: Midnight Interval - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Nii-san! You don't have to do something like that! I've already forgiven you!"

"Even if you have, I have not earned it!"

As Caster walked back into the living room, she did indeed find Sakura and Shinji arguing.

"Now, now, what's all this about?・she asked.

"Caster. First, I must thank you for doing what...you did in order to assist me and Lancer. However, I have another favor to ask. Do you remember what you told me when first we met?"

"Of course I do, what of it?" she asked with her eye cocked.

"Can you still do so?" he asked, shocking her completely.

"What the...why would you willingly wish to experience such things? It will break you."

"I don't care. You and I both know that I have not done anything to earn any measure of forgiveness for what I have done. Let me experience this so I can at least have some portion of that."

"Nii-san! You really don't have to do this!" Sakura begged.

"..." Caster was silent. She applauded Shinji for his current selfless actions, but she still did not believe him. "You will never achieve the level of forgiveness you wish to earn-"

"I know I can't! But I also can't move forward until I at least do this!" Shinji yelled.

Caster was utterly amazed. Surely the Shinji she was talking to now was an anomaly, one that would surely not exist in any other timeline. This one reminded her so much of...no. Shinji was Shinji, no matter who he may seem like. He can never be like [i]him[/i]. But this one was unique. It would be intriguing to see how far he can go.

"...Fine. As time is short, I'll change things so that you experience one year per hour. If you manage to come out of it with your sanity intact, than I at the very least will trust you until the end of this War, Matou Shinji."

"Thank you, Caster."

"_Schlafen_" she muttered, and Shinji collapsed.

"Caster, please don't do this," Sakura pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. He wants to do this for you. _Erinnerung Denkmal!_" she shouted, and silenced the area surrounded Shinji.

For a moment, he was still. Than the sleeping spell wore off, and his face contorted into inaudible screams, his body involuntarily responding in concert with his facial expressions, and both women turned away from the gruesome sight.

_BGM: Footsteps of Destruction - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Archer landed with a dampened thump on the outer wall of the Emiya home, observing everything he could. After a quick sweep of the outer courtyard, his gaze focused a figure he could see through a window. Caster. She was apparently arguing with someone, but whoever it was he could not tell, for they were not in his line of sight. A temptation came to Archers' mind. While he had come here originally just to scout, here was Caster, in sight and unaware. I could take her out right now. I should. Rin would do it, she would understand.

He silently projected the familiar bow and was about to trace an arrow as well, when something else rose to the surface of his mind, and a small smile crossed his lips.

"This will be fitting," he mused as he traced a weapon, and molded it into a blood-red arrow.

He drew back the bowstring, and focused his gaze towards the enigma that was his target. As his fingers loosened to release the string, he paused, and quickly jumped back.

He was just in time. A split-second later and the small projectile that had snaked inward and shattered his bow and Gae Bolg arrow would have pierced his right shoulder, which would have left him helpless. As he landed, he stared at the small dagger-like projectile and his mouth opened in surprised recognition.

_Rider?! So, Shinji...no, this strength and speed can only mean Sakura is her Master this time...but the Shadow hadn't shown up yet! Now what is going on? Are there actually four Masters at this place?_

"Mmmmm. Almost," the familiar voice purred as Rider landed on the wall where her dagger had landed, and she turned to face the intruder. "Sakura wouldn't be pleased if you were to do something like that, Archer."

Archer didn't waver as he formed his twin swords in his hands. "If that's your Master, I don't see why she would care. Taking out another Servant would be a bonus to both of us."

Rider crouched down, prepared to spring at the male Servant. "Normally that would be true. But, not when that same Servant is also my Masters." Than, she pounced.

Rcher let out a loud gasp and stumbled forward rather than changing position to meet Riders' attack. _Sakura is Casters' Master?!? Than what Caster said earlier by her and Lancers' Masters being siblings...Shinji is Lancers' Master?_ "Ahh!" he groaned aloud as the strike scratched his cheek, leaving a small gash.

Rider continued her jump and landed in the courtyard. She licked the blood that she had drawn off of her dagger and smiled. "Ahhh, delicious," she whispered as she flushed slightly red. "It seems that my remark surprised you for whatever reason, Archer. I don't care why, but you would do well to forget about it, lest you be bitten by my Widow's Fangs."

Archer clamped down mentally and settled back into a defensive posture. _I'll worry about Caster and everything else later. Right now, killing Rider is more important._

_BGM: Clashing Souls - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

The scarlet knight changed his mind however, and leapt from his perch in an attempt to preempt Riders' next attack, but she quickly catapulted into a strike of her own, twisting out of Kanshos' reach and biting Archer again on the other cheek.

Archer cursed and settled once again into a defensive posture, deciding that perhaps he should be more patient against a spider, even though it would be difficult.

The Servant clad in violet and black sprang sideways and leapt again at the Archer, flailing her daggers in complex and unusual angles, each prepared to bite into flesh again, but now the knight was deflecting them all away before they could reach him. She thrust one forward again, this time aiming for the guard of the black sword. The Fang hit its mark, crashing into the sword and sending it flying away out of his grasp. She instantly thrust the other forward as she retracted the first, hoping that she could make it through the opening before he brought the white twin to deflect it.

[b]CLANG![/b]

Not in time, as it was deflected. But not by the white twin, as she had expected, but by the black one again! She quickly glanced at where the black sword had landed when she had knocked it away, and saw that it was still stuck in the ground. _So, Projection magic works like that. I saw a little when I observed Caster blow him away yesterday, but still, Archer is remarkable._

She flipped away before Archer could close in and seize an advantage over her, and both paused to study each other. Other than the two hits she had landed at the start of the battle to Archers' face, none of Riders' other blows had connected, while Archer hadn't made any attacks since his first botched one.

"I think it's about time I went a little harder. Ready, Rider?" The red knight smiled, and raised his arms and threw his swords towards Rider.

Rider quickly rolled to the side and back flipped away. "Fool, you think you can defeat me by _throwing_ those swords?" When she focused her gaze on him again, she noticed her error, and immediately dodged away from the newly thrown twin swords of light and dark. As Archer could keep Projecting swords, and with her out of position to block or parry them, Rider could do nothing but continue to dodge. But still, something was wrong. None of the swords that Archer had thrown were disappearing. They hadn't even landed on the ground. They were spinning in midair where he had thrown them, almost as if...

She was finally able to deflect the next pair of incoming swords, but she was in trouble. She was always the spider, manipulating her pray into impossible situations, and now, she realized that Archer had done the same to her!

"Strength uproots the mountains!" Another set, the trap was almost complete, and Rider was growing desperate.

"Blades divide the waters!" A final set of swords, and the trap began to close in on the spider. But she would not go quietly. She jumped forward at the last minute between two of the widest placed swords and rolled through, with deep lacerations on her right thigh and left side, but she was still in one piece. However, the advantage as clearly in Archers' favor, as now Rider could not hope to keep up with him in a movement battle with such a deep cut.

"Hmmm. You are a wonderful opponent. Thankfully no one else is around, I don't want anyone else to see this," she pursed as she raised a hand to her face, lifting Breaker Gorgon and exposing her Mystic Eyes of Petrification.

Her hair was not made of snakes, nor would it petrify her opponents. She had been vilified as a monster in ancient Greece as a monster, but Medusa was far from such a thing in all areas save her eyes. She knew instinctively from being summoned that the Archer class, as a Knight class, was likely to have high magic resistance, but even so he should at least be slowed considerably so they would be even again. She was pleasantly surprised, than, when she saw Archers' feet turn to stone.

"An Archer with no magic resistance? Looks like I lucked out, wouldn't you say?" she smiled.

"Khuh! Talk all you want, it won't make a difference!" Archer sneered, and focused his mind. She had surprised him with a bit of information at the beginning of this battle; it was his turn to shock her. He focused on the image he had seen at the ancient museum in Greece, formed the image, and spoke it's name.

"_Aegis!_"

A large buckler formed on his left arm, which quickly nullified the petrification process.

Rider froze, almost as if the petrifaction had been thrust upon her.

"Why do you have that?!?" she screeched. She recognized the object that had allowed that man to kill her. Aegis, the ancient shield of the goddess Athena. The front was made of polished glass, which reflected the magical properties of her Mystic Eyes, which meant Rider was back at her previous disadvantage. She only had one recourse now, and while she did not want to use it, she had to; she would just move the battle to another location away from Sakura. She took a Fang and stabbed herself in the neck, letting her blood flow out as a white form began to appear...

Rider quickly jumped on the back of her winged steed and flew away, Archer close behind her.

"I don't care if you want to change the location, but let me know first next time!" Archer called out ahead. He could easily end it now if he wanted to, but it would create a large amount of causalities. He guessed that Rider had the same implications, as he followed her to the river that divided Fuyuki from Shinto.

Rider than paused in midair and stared down at her foe on the shoreline. "Die gracefully, Archer!" she yelled as a golden light formed in her hands. The Bridle of Chivalry as it was called turned the steed into a frightening monster, its eyes turning bright red. With a snap, Rider and her steed climbed high into the sky, preparing to race towards the ground and crash into Archer to obliterate him.

Archer merely stared up at the woman and sighed.

"A pegasus knight against an Archer? What a joke. But I won't shoot you down with a bow," he told no one as a golden light began to form in his own hands.

Back at the Emiya household, Shirou, Sakura and Caster grasped their Command Seals as they burned, while Saber grasped her chest. She did not know how or why, but _her sword was being used._ She immediately armed herself to check that her sword was still with her. After confirming it was, she realized that impossibly it was at another location as well, and immediately set out in search of it.

_BGM: Sword of Promised Victory - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

He hadn't used it himself in a long time, but her holy sword awed him everytime he saw it. An exquisite blade crafted by the Lady of the Lake for the King of Knights alone to use, it always took him more of his power than usual to convince the blade to yield to his will, but it always did once it realized that its' scabbard was inside his body. After mastering it once more, Archer raised it above his head, prepared to launch it at the streaking comet that was Rider when he heard a loud choke behind him.

He quickly glanced behind him to see Saber staring in shocked surprise at him, and he understood all too well. To see someone else using that which should be solely yours would make anyone crack, even the normally unemotional Saber.

"Wondering why I have this?" he asked.

Saber could do nothing but gape.

"Don't worry, I won't use this again - this War," he smirked, and swung the holy sword forth, and a wave of light and heat engulfed the comet, disintegrating it into the night air.

_BGM: Wandering Shadow - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Overlooking the Emiya household, a pale mask continued to watch and wait as his Master had commanded. He had watched the Lancer defeat the impressive Berserker, he had followed him and his Masters' kin to this place, and he had observed everything that had happened since than. He would continue to watch and wait until his Master gave him other orders. But than again, patience was a core element for an Assassin.

**End Chapter 9**

Chapter 10 Preview

**Completing the Circle**

With Two gone, many questions remain,

As the Archer returns to his shared domain.

But first the tale of one who is both Servant and Master.

As Golden Darkness approaches ever faster.


	13. Completing the Circle

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to _Fate/Stay Night_, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 10: Completing the Circle**

_BGM: Nightmare - Fate/Stay Night the Animation_

At the same time, back at the Emiya household...

Sakura and Casters' Command Spells were burning. Sakura felt as if something had been lost, while Caster felt as if she had just released an enormous amount of mana. Servant and Master looked up at each other.

"Where is Rider?" Caster asked Sakura, already knowing by the look on her face.

"...Gone," Sakura whispered.

Caster noticed that Sabers' mana signature was strange as well. As if there was two of her.

"We should ask Emiya-kun if he knows where Saber is," she told Sakura, who nodded.

They hurried to the kitchen to find Shirou standing in the middle of the room staring out a window.

Shirou felt odd. _Something_ within him wanted him to leave his home. It was so compelling that he was convinced that if he did not do so, he would lose a part of himself forever.

"...ya-kun?"

Some annoying voice. He had more important things to do. Such as leave his-

"Emiya-kun!"

**SMACK!**

"Gah!" Shirou groaned as he held his head. "What the heck happened?"

"That's what you get for ignoring me!" Caster shouted back.

"When did the two of you get here?" Shirou asked, confused.

Caster blinked. "You really didn't notice us at all?"

Shirou shook his head before he answered. "No, I was standing here making something for Saber and myself when I saw a flash of light outside the window. Than I felt...I don't really know how to explain this, but I felt _drawn_ towards where I saw that light."

Caster frowned. If Shirou was reacting like this, it could only mean that the flash of light he had seen was Excalibur being unleashed. Unfortunately, that meant that Saber had been the one to kill Rider.

"By the way, where is Saber? Did she go into the living room with you guys?" Shirou asked, worried that the petite blonde girl was not with them.

"I believe Saber was the one responsible for the flash of light you saw, as well as the effect it had on you," Caster replied. "Can you follow whatever is drawing you back to its' source? It'll probably lead us to Saber."

"I'm sure I can, but what was that light?" Shirou asked.

"Since we don't know much about her, it could be a number of things, from an inherent ability to a Noble Phantasm, or it could have nothing to do with her, unlikely though that is. We should hurry though."

"But what about Nii-san?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm? Did something happen to Shinji?" Shirou added.

Shinjis' twisted face leapt into Casters' mind. "It's nothing for you to be concerned about, Emiya-kun. Lancer is here anyhow, so Shinji will be fine. So, let's hurry."

"...I don't like being left in the dark if something happened to one of my friends, but your right. Shinji will be fine with Lancer. I'll see to him when we get back." Shirou finished.

"Yeah, talk like I'm not even here," a voice drawled in from the living room. The three of them turned to see Lancer in the doorway to the living room, who looked extremely pissed.

"Caster, I will have you explain what you did to my Master. **Now.**" he added in a tone of finality.

Caster sighed. "I don't have time to tell you everything now. The longer we wait, the longer it will take us to respond to whatever just happened. But, I only did to him what he wanted. Will that suffice for now?"

"You expect me to believe that whatever he's experiencing that is causing him so much pain that it is affecting me, he _wanted_ you to do it?" Lancer asked with doubt.

"Yes, I do. As I said, I'll tell you more later, so just make sure he stays safe for a while. I don't know if another Servant will come while we're gone, so be on guard."

"You don't have to tell me that," Lancer answered as he walked back into the living room.

Caster sighed inwardly again. _Jeez, that guy is so troublesome._ Him being paired with Shinji really was a good, if odd, match. Than she remembered their situation.

"Alright, let's go. Lead the way, Emiya-kun."

And so the three of them left the household, while a solitary figure crouched on the rooftops.

_BGM: Wandering Shadow - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"It seems that Caster, her Master, and Saber's Master are headed out after Saber, and it seems Saber was the one responsible for that enormous flash of light. Probably her Noble Phantasm." Assassin finished his report to Zouken.

"I see. What about my grandson?" The ancient patriarch asked.

"He is incapacitated for the next half day, if he survives whatever he is experiencing. It would be easy for me to finish him off here. Shall I?" The Servant asked with a hint of glee in his voice.

"No. Kin should be dealt with personally, and that Lancer worries me. He was that powerful to eliminate Berserker on his own, and shouldn't be underestimated."

"You believe I can not kill Lancer?" Assassin asked, annoyed at the insult.

"Of course not. I know your abilities well enough, and I'm confident you could take him down. I just don't want any surprises that might happen to possibly affect Shinji." Zouken answered.

"So what do you want me to do? Should I follow those three?"

"No, leave them be now. Interesting though the situation is that has developed, I have other issues to concern myself with. Make your way back here. We should prepare to welcome my grandson back."

"You seem rather confident that he will recover," Assassin voiced.

"Kheheheheheheheh. He's a Matou, however weak he is. If he couldn't handle whatever he is experiencing, I would have killed him long ago," Zouken cackled.

_BGM: Midnight Interval - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Archer collapsed onto his hands and knees. This was why he rarely used such a fine sword; because of the aftereffect on him. But it was always worth it.

"Ugh!"

However, there was a new complication this time. Probably because the original owner was no more than twenty feet away from him, but Excalibur left a much larger strain on his body than usual. He would normally be able to move in a couple minutes, but given his current condition, he probably wouldn't be able to move for a few hours. _This presents a big problem_, he thought to himself. _Saber will surely recover from her stupor, and she'll kill me in a rage for using her sword_.

"Well, at least this will allow me to get out of the second Command Spell a little easier than I had anticipated," he muttered to himself before reaching out mentally to connect to Rin.

Rin answered immediately.

_"What the hell did you do you idiot?! I definitely felt the amount of magical energy you just released. I specifically remember that you told me you were only going to scout!"_

_"It couldn't be helped. I ran into Rider when I got close, and we ended up fighting,"_ he explained.

_"Why did you release that large amount of mana though?"_ Rin asked in return.

_"She used her Noble Phantasm, and I needed something of appropriate power to combat it."_

_"What? Rider was that powerful?"_ Rin asked.

_"At least her Noble Phantasm was,"_ he answered.

_"Well, the amount of magical energy you just released would have surely alerted any other Servants, so you'd better come back here quickly before anyone shows up,"_ Rin advised.

_"..."_

_"Don't tell me..."_ Rin groaned.

_"Saber showed up right afterwards, and I'm in no condition to fight,"_ Archer finished.

_"Damnit! Well if that's the case, than there's nothing else I can do but bring you back with a Command Spell."_

_"I suppose so. Go ahead and bring me back before Saber get eliminate me."_

Archer sighed. "Well, looks like I'll get out of this fix."

Saber blinked as she finally recovered.

"Archer, you bastard! How dare you soil my sword with your unworthy hands!"

Archer answered with another smug smile. "Actually, after you, I'm the only other person who could possibly comprehend and use your sword, Your Majesty."

Saber twitched. "You..."

"Well anyhow, we'll have to continue this later. Until next time, Saber," Archer answered.

"You will not slip away!" Saber yelled as she rushed forward and swung her invisible sword down with all her might.

But she connected with nothing. Archer had already disappeared.

Saber stuck her sword into the ground in frustration.

_BGM: Footsteps of Destruction - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

As running would have taken forever, Caster stopped the two and tossed them identical jewels. When they asked what it was for, she only answered. "Because humans are too slow." When they began running again, they were running at around ten times their normal speed.

"Ahhh! This is amazing!" Sakura squealed.

"Just make sure you don't lose Shirou!" Caster yelled back to her.

They quickly made their way to the riverfront, where they found Saber with leaning on what must have been her sword, and the ground scorched and up heaved all around them. It was obvious a battle had taken place here.

"Um, Saber? Are you all right?" Shirou asked.

"I am...fine, Shirou," the blonde girl answered through clenched teeth.

"Saber," Caster spoke. "That large flash of light earlier...was that you're Noble Phantasm?"

"Yes."

"Than I have to ask why you killed Rider. We are allies now, remember?"

Saber whirled around on her immediately.

"You dare accuse a knight of breaking her oath?" Her voice seeped with venom.

"I would have to say that by your own admission that you did," Caster answered, unperturbed.

"Just because that my Noble Phantasm killed Rider?" Saber asked.

"…What are you getting at?" Caster asked.

"I was insulted. I felt my sword being used, so I rushed here as fast as I could. I arrived to see that Archer had somehow replicated my sword, which he used to kill Rider."

Caster was stunned.

"Archer was here? And he Projected Excalibur?"

Shirous' eyes blinked. "Excalibur? The legendary blade of King Arthur? Why would Saber have it?"

"You idiot. If she has that sword, than whom else can she be?" Caster replied, annoyed.

"Huh? Ah!" Shirou exclaimed as he finally realized what she meant.

"But, wasn't King Arthur a man?"

"Legends are twisted to tell a better story, so why would the legend of King Arthur be any different? Regardless, I didn't expect Archer would do something like this.

"Yes, tonight is full of surprises," Saber added, as her eyes narrowed into slits. "Including you. I spoke nothing of my identity, and certainly not that of my sword, to anyone. How did you know the name of my blade when I had not done so?"

"Shi–" Caster froze. _How could I have screwed up like that? I was surprised, but still that was extremely stupid of me!_ She pondered for a bit. Would now be too early to reveal herself? She quickly went over the Servants that were still left. Herself, Saber, Lancer, Assassin, Archer, and Gilgamesh. That left things as they were with her in an advantageous situation, but as things had proven over the past couple of days, the situation could change in an instant based on a Servant's origin and Noble Phantasm, and Assassin was still an unknown factor because of that. She thought a little more, than decided on her answer.

_BGM: THIS ILLUSION (instrumental) - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"…Very well. I'll tell you the truth. I've known about your blade since before I became a Servant."

"Impossible. You are not from my time. I would have made it a priority to know about someone like you if you eventually became a heroic spirit."

"Also true," Caster answered with a smirk.

"What do you mean?"

"Perhaps this might serve as a better explanation," she added, and grasped her robe before wrapping it around herself. Her red dress, ordained with jewels, changed color and formed into a familiar school uniform. The long hair tied itself into two strands.

She blushed as she spoke with a small smile.

"Good day, everyone."

The two Masters and other Servant were shocked.

"T-T-Tohsaka?!?"

"N-Nee-san?!?"

"Rin!"

"Yes, yes, all of the above and a few other names too," Caster answered.

"How did you–" all three began in unison, but were stopped by Caster.

"I'll tell you all when we get back to Emiya-kuns' home. It's not completely safe out here."

The others merely nodded, as they all began walking back to the Emiya residence.

_BGM: The Golden King - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Hmm, seems that Saber and those mongrels know who Caster is. Doesn't matter to me who she really is, because she'll be mine in the end," Gilgamesh commented. "Although, there seems to be a damned Faker this time. I'll make him pay when the time comes!" he added before heading back to Ryudou Temple, speaking only one more word.

"Soon"

_BGM: Tender Scenery - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

The allied Masters and their Servants arrive back at the Emiya residence and made their way to the living room. Shirou froze when he saw Shinji writhing about in obvious pain, although he couldn't hear anything.

"W-What the hell happened to Shinji?!" he exclaimed.

"That witch did that to him," said Lancer as he stared at Caster. He was sitting against the wall, standing guard over his Master.

"Tohsaka, why did you do something like that to Shinji?" Shirou snapped as he turned on Caster.

"First off, do _not_ call me by that name. There is already a Tohsaka Rin here, and I'm far from being anything like her anymore. Also, I will not be around after the War, so there's no need to try and become more familiar with me. Caster will do."

"Fine. But still, why did–"

"I was about to explain. Jeez, you always interrupt someone when they are talking, idiot."

"Kheh," Lancer smirked at her remark.

"As I said earlier, I did it because Shinji asked me to. As for what I did, I trapped him within the memories of someone from his past because he wished to overcome his personal demons."

Shirou blinked. He did not expect something like this. It was true that Shinji had always been a cold person, but the past couple of days he had seemed brighter, like he had been when he was younger. If this was because he was preparing himself for something like this, than he could do nothing but feel glad for him.

"But, just whose memories is Shinji experiencing than?"

Shirou froze. Not because of the intense feeling of anger coming from Caster; she had already instinctively frozen him with a sapphire.

"Fufufu. Not only do you interrupt, you say many useless things as well, Emiya-kun," Caster said calmly.

_Help me Saber!_ was what Shirou thought as he turned to his Servant with a pleading look, who, surprisingly, was making no attempt to help him.

Lancer eyed Saber curiously.

"Oy. Why aren't you helping your Master? Caster looks ready to kill him."

"There is no serious danger of that with those two. Rin," she paused as she noticed that Caster had turned and was glaring at her. "My apologies, _Caster_, is not one to do such a thing like that."

"Kheh, whatever you say," Lancer shrugged, now disinterested.

_Traitor!_ Shirou thought at this turn of events.

"Um, Nee-san? Can you please let Sempai go? I want to know how..." Sakura paused before finishing. "You came to be...."

Caster quickly calmed down and released the spell, causing Shirou to hug his knees in an attempt to warm himself back up.

"Very well," she sighed. "Truth be told, I became like this as a result of what happened during the Grail War _I_ was apart of." She paused again, than something came to mind.

"Better yet, why don't I just show you what happened? It'll be easier than explaining it all," she said, and took another jewel from her dress.

_"Speicher Ansicht"_

The jewel expanded into a much larger version of itself, and images began to play on it.

_BGM: Premonition of a Storm - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

It was close to midnight, and she could do nothing but pace back and forth as she restlessly wondered where her Servant, Archer, had gotten off to.

"Jeez, where the hell did he go?" she yelled to nothing but the old walls of the mansion. She was used to living alone, but the past few days with Archer here had made the place seem more...lively.

"Mmph, I'll rip him a new one when he gets back. Honestly! He knows he's supposed to let me know if he's going out alone. What if he were to run into the one responsible for draining the people in town!"

She had to cool off some steam, so she decided to get out and go for a walk. Even with the potential danger of running into another Master and their Servant was still present, she still had her Command Spells to summon Archer to her should such an event occur.

That is, before she sensed her Servant's presence in the direction of the Ryudou Temple, and it seemed he was engaged in battle.

Cursing under her breath, she ran as quickly as she dared towards the mountain.

As she climbed the stairs, she looked up and saw Saber and a long-haired samurai locked in combat, their swords dancing in contrasting styles; The samurai's light and elegant strokes against Saber's brutal, crashing drives. She gradually came to a stop, entranced by the spectacle before her. Neither of them looked to be at an advantage, until the samurai stumbled to one knee. It was just for a second, but unfortunately for him, a swordsman of Saber's quality only needed that small of an opening, and she immediately ran him through her invisible blade, creating a crimson outline of the weapon as it did so.

The samurai coughed once, speaking something to his opponent, than faded away into the night air, as Saber immediately ran forward into the temple proper.

She quickly snapped herself out of her stupor and continued her way up the stairs. She silently applauded the unknown samurai, and just as quickly erased him from her mind; he was not important anymore. Before she reached the top she heard a pained yell, followed by a burning feeling from her Command Spell. Fighting back the pain, she burst through the portal at the top of the stairs, and found a sight she never expected to see.

_BGM: Whirlpool of Fate 2 - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

There were three figures in the middle of the courtyard, all of them familiar to her. Her eyes focused first on Emiya Shirou, who was closest to her. He was yelling in pain, and it was clear enough why: his left arm was missing from the elbow down, the appendage on the ground beside him, drenched in blood.

The other two were near Shirou. One was Archer, holding the twin swords in his hands that she had seen him use the other night when he battled Lancer. One of them, the white one, was dripping blood from its edge.

The final figure was Saber, and she had a murderous look on her face. Her invisible sword was still stained with blood, but there was now more than one other Servant's blood upon it; as it was sticking out of Archer's back.

It did not take a genius to quickly deduce what had happened. What surprised her though was that both Servants were beginning to disappear. She quickly hurried to Archer.

"Why the hell did you do this you idiot!" she sadly, yet sternly said.

Her Servant merely shrugged and formed a smile.

"Hmph. I came close, but failed again," and he spoke no more as he disintegrated, leaving no trace of himself.

Being the calculating person that she was, she quickly discovered why Saber was disappearing as well: Shirous' severed arm had his remaining Command Spells on it; with its loss of his arm also came the loss of the contract between he and Saber.

Without the contract between them, she knew that Shirou was likely to die from blood loss if she didn't do something fast. But she also knew that she would still need Saber's help if she was to continue the war. She had just lost Archer, and although she loathed to use the same piece that had just eliminated her original piece, however justified his 'death' may have been, she knew that it was necessary.

So, she and Saber quickly formed a contract with each other, and immediately tasked themselves with preventing Shirou's death. In that venture, they were successful, yet it was not perfect. The severed arm would not be reattached at his request, explaining it as "a reminder of his own stupidity."

She asked him what had happened before this set of events, and he relayed that he had been drawn out of bed by a witch. She was about to take his Command Spells by cutting off his arm as well when Archer showed up and saved him, and proceeded to combat Caster, and he quickly killed her. He than explained that as he turned to leave he saw Saber appear from the stairs, and she rushed at him, looking furious. Before he could wonder why she looked so, he felt a rush of wind from behind, a stinging sensation from his arm, and looked down and saw that it was no longer a part of him.

Over the next few days, the three of them continued to work together, but they did not defeat another Servant; one Servant, an Archer clad in gold from the previous War, did the remaining work for them. He stole away the one who was most important to both Masters. They confronted him at the Temple again in the end, but they could not stop him. Their important person was shattered, her life stolen when she received Ilyas' heart; Saber was stolen, converted into a slave for the golden Archer's perverted pleasure. Than, hell was released unto the rest of the unsuspecting world.

She and Shirou survived and continued to search for a way to dethrone the new self-proclaimed King, but eventually Shirou was killed too in a desperate battle between him and the King. She mustered all of her time into training under one that was far superior to her, and in the end she confronted and freed the world from his tyranny, yet he dragged her with him into the shackles of eternal servitude.

**End Chapter 10**

Chapter 11 Preview

**Awakening**

With the tale told, the confrontations near,

First is a family affair.

What has been sealed shall be revealed,

When the beast within is awakened.


	14. Awakening

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to _Fate/Stay Night_, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

And remember: NSFW!

Also, sorry for Sakura fans, but this had to be done.

**Chapter 11: Awakening**

_BGM: Whirlpool of Fate 2 - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

As the images faded from the sphere that Caster had conjured, the atmosphere in the living room felt as cold and depressing as a graveyard. Sakura was sobbing quietly into her hands while Shirou was gritting his teeth. Even the other two Servants were far from their normal selves, both of them silently brooding. Only Caster was unaffected, but than again, they had only witnessed what had already happened for her.

After a few more moments of silence, she spoke.

"I'm sorry. I know that my story isn't a happy one, but I have no intention of allowing those events to be repeated in this world."

Silence greeted her, and she accepted it once again, waiting for the next person to speak.

Outside, the sun had begun to set.

_BGM: Wandering Shadow - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

He was tired. So tired. So very, very tired.

Yet while it was evening, he could tell that it was not yet time for bed, so Shinji forced himself up.

He was in his bed, and he stayed there for a second to collect himself. _How did I get here?_ The last thing he remembered was that Caster said he would force him to experience what Sakura had over the past eleven years. If that was true, why was he here? Surely he would be in the-

He froze. That was why he was here, back at home. He threw off the covers and raced towards his sisters・room and paused before the door.

He could hear frenzied pants, sighs, groans, growls, and passionate screams of ecstasy. He knew who was making those sounds. But what frightened him more than confronting her when he opened the door was the _other_ person in the room that was laughing manically, demeaning his sister with harsh and hateful words.

The door suddenly opened, and within the damnable bedroom was Sakura, on all fours, naked. The man pumping away at her was _himself_. The Shinji inside the bedroom looked up at the new arrival.

"Oh? Back again are we?" he sneered, not pausing at all.

"I-"

"Shut up! We both know why you are here, idiot! I am you after all. You've been through this sequence exactly five thousand eight hundred and sixty-one times already. Why don't you just give up?" _Shinji_ grinned.

All Shinji was able to do was stand there motionless. He had decided many cycles ago that this was the best solution, to drown out his rage, shame, fear, and any other negative emotion that rose within him. Those emotions were not him. They made up the mirror image that was in front of him.

"What, you think that by pretending that nothing is happening that it will stop? If you pretend this is not real that it will stop? You should know by now. This is _real_. It _happened_. _You_ did this to _her_, and now you want to repent?!?" _Shinji_ cackled in delight, all the while continuing to pound away at the discarded puppet that resembled Sakura.

Shinji was connected to the puppet as well; not physically, but mentally. He felt everything that it was feeling. Some cycles it was pain, others shame, embarrassment, anger, fear. Again and again he was being assailed with negative emotions; His own and the puppets' His eyes focused on a mirror that was on the far wall, which reflected the scene in front of him, than reflected again inside the reflections mirror. Than he realized that the walls had faded away, only to be replaced by mirrors as well. The same reflected scene was all he was aware of.

An infinite cycle of negative emotions was pounding into his consciousness, threatening to sweep his sanity away, with a broken puppet waiting to replace it.

"Really, why do you persist in such a foolish endeavor?" echoed the infinitely taunting voices of his blackened reflection.

"_You_ did this to _her_. This is _your_ fault. What right do _you_ have to even _begin_ to ask for forgiveness from anyone, much less _her_?!"

He had no answer. Or rather, he already knew the answer. He had no right to ask for forgiveness, it was just another selfish desire that he desperately wanted, without giving a thought as to the consequences.

"Just like a child. Pathetic!"

He was just like a child. He knew it; He didn't need to be reminded about it. But, why was he here, witnessing such a horrible scene? He thought hard but his mind kept turning blank each time a sound came from the broken puppet.

"After all of this, you really should just die, you know?"

And really, why shouldn't he? Just what had he done with his life until now? He had few friends, and those he had he treated like garbage. He had girls, yet he could never love them as some of them may have wanted, and even fewer loved him anyhow. He had his own personal puppet, but he had broken it. He was a failure to his family. Maybe he should just-

"____!" An almost inaudible whisper struggled to speak.

"?" _He_ paused.

"I _______!" It was faint, but it was a voice. It was a familiar voice.

"What?!?" _He_ quickly disconnected himself in disbelief.

"I for____" The voice softly called.

"Shut up!" _He_ shouted.

"I forgive _____!" The broken puppet struggled out.

"Shut up, damn you! _You are **mine**_!" He roared.

"I forgive you!" the puppet croaked between its' tears.

***Crack***

A single crack formed in the mirror on the far wall with the infinite reflections.

"No! _You_ are _mine_! _He_ is _mine_! I will not let him go _again_!" _He_ howled in rage.

"I forgive you!!" the puppet cried again.

***Crack***

A crack formed on another mirror. Than another; and another; and another. Something was glowing from behind the cracked mirrors.

"**DAMN YOU!!!**" _He_ roared at the top of his lungs.

"I forgive you, Nii-san!!!" Sakura shouted.

And the glass shattered, only to be recycled once more.

"**Stop it**"

He was tired.

"**Stop it**"

So tired. So very, very tired.

"**I said stop it!**"

Yet while it was evening,

"**I can't take it anymore!**"

he could tell that it was not yet time for bed.

"**No...**"

So tired.

"**I won't,**

So very, very tired.

**accept this,**

Tired.

**ANYMORE!!!!!"**

***Shatter***

_BGM: New Dawn - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

The world around him was grey. Not light, nor dark. Somewhere in-between. Where exactly was this balance? Only the two individuals in the world knew. Those two were of the same individual, the one known as Matou Shinji.

"Are you finally through with this farce?" One of the two spoke.

"Of course," the other slyly smiled.

"Than will you finally accept what you have done?"

"I already have. The real question is will _you_ finally accept what you have done."

"Of course," the first smiled in return. "I am you, after all."

"Yes, I've finally accepted that as well."

"So where do we go from here?"

"Why do you ask that question? Did you think I would say 'We both know the answer to that question?' Mere humans can never have the answers to everything, no matter how hard they try to convince themselves otherwise. Love, at the very least, would have been understood long ago if that were so."

"Than we'll just have to push forward and whatever happens, happens, right?"

"Heh, now you've finally beginning to understand. Looks like I can tolerate you after all."

"Likewise, you ridiculous fool."

And they both laughed heartily for a few moments, than their faces hardened.

"You know, she may have forgiven you, but you still don't deserve it."

"I know. That is why all I can do is spend the rest of this life atoning for these sins."

"At least you"ve realized that there are no absolutes. Even if you don't forgive yourself in the end, at least you will have tried, and [i]that[/i] may mean much more than you think."

The world slowly faded to blackness.

A small chuckle came from somewhere in the abyss, where neither could hear.

"So, I wonder how this world will play out now?" the voice said with a wide smile. It somehow sounded like an old man.

Shinji slowly awakened with a pounding headache.

"Nii-san! You're awake!" Sakura called out to him from where she was sitting.

Shinji sat up and smiled.

"Yeah. Good morning, everyone."

**End Chapter 11**

Chapter 12 Preview

**Unraveling Ties**

With the Eighth Master whole,

A New Dawn arrives.

A Destined opponent for each remains,

Who shall survive to become the Trinity?


	15. Unraveling Ties

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to _Fate/Stay Night_, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 12: Unraveling Ties**

_BGM: Midnight Interval – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Well, it seems you did mean what you meant, Matou Shinji." Caster's cold voice echoed, breaking the warm atmosphere that had developed. She took a few steps toward him, and surprisingly, held out her hand to help him up, which Shinji took without hesitation. She blinked in surprise for a second, than smiled.

"Consider me _slightly_ impressed." She said, causing Shinji to evade her gaze in embarrassment.

"Y-You're welcome," he stuttered.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed before Caster added,

"You can let go of my hand now, Shinji."

Shinji's hand snapped away like a viper as his face crimsoned, causing Caster and Sakura to let out small giggles while Shirou smirked. Caster, however, quickly resumed her normal demeanor.

"Now, let's go over our situation as it currently stands."

She plucked a jewel from the folds of her robe and tossed it into the air. With a wave of her hand, the jewel stretched and widened itself, some areas of it filling in to look like frames, ending with eight equal sections.

"This useful gem will display the Servants and Master of this Holy Grail War. Normally, there would only be seven of each, but as we know there is another Servant," she added, looking over at Lancer. Her hand hovered over each frame, and the appearances of a Servant and their corresponding Master filled in.

"At the start of the War, there were eight pairs. The first individual to die it seems was the Master of Lancer and Gilgamesh, Kotomine Kirei." Caster started.

"Wait a minute, you mean the priest that you-" Shirou paused, remembering what Caster had done to him a little earlier. "Err, Tohsaka took me to that explained the rules?"

"Yes, the same man. I know so because I found out during my War." Caster explained. "Now Lancer, because he is so self-centered, you'll agree with me that Gilgamesh was the most likely one to kill Kirei, correct?"

"Considering that, yeah I'd say so." Lancer affirmed her reasoning.

"That left you without a Master, and you ending up bonding with Shinji after both of you had encountered and killed Berserker, bringing the Master count back to seven, and the Servant count down to seven. Now this brings up an important point. What happened to Berserker's Master?" Caster asked.

"No clue. Myself and the kid were completely drained after I killed that behemoth. I didn't have an opportunity to finish her off." Lancer admitted.

"Hmm. Than there's an unknown factor here. There are a few things that could have happened to her. I can only hope that the one possibility I fear did not come to pass."

"What do you mean?" Lancer asked in a low voice.

"Remember what I showed you? Gilgamesh had ripped out her heart and forced it into another Magus to force the Grail to incarnate inside that Magus."

"Shit. Yeah, I remember," Lancer grumbled.

"Unfortunately, we have to assume the possibility that it may have happened here as well. Next, Rider was killed by Archer."

Everyone other the Shinji and Lancer flinched at the mention of both Servants' names, remembering what had happened the previous night.

"Now that brought us to a count of six Servants and seven Masters, although since I am both I will eliminate myself from the Master list, leaving us with six Servants and six Masters, which are as follows." Caster than directed everyone's attention to the frames.

"First, the three Servant/Master pairs here or Emiya Shirou and Saber, Matou Shinji and Lancer, and Matou Sakura and Caster. I'll separate the three of us for now." Caster tapped the frames and they instantly turned a deep scarlet color, which than separated themselves from the others.

"The other two Servant/Master pairs are Tohsaka Rin and Archer, and Matou Zouken and Assassin, whom I unfortunately do not have an image frame of since I have not encountered him, and he will most certainly be different from the one I encountered." She than separated the two pairs as well, leaving Zouken/Assassin with a black hue, and Rin/Archer with a bright red hue.

"That leaves one independent Servant, and one Servantless Master in Gilgamesh and Ilyasviel von Einzbern." And she separated the two remaining frames apart from the rest with gold and white hues.

"At first look, you could say that the three of us have an advantage, as we are allies, but do not assume so. Saber, Lancer and myself know full well how difficult Archer can be alone, and you all now know how powerful Gilgamesh is. Add in the unknown factor of Assassin, and we are all still in a tight spot."

Shinji suddenly cleared his throat.

"Pardon me, I know that the best idea for now will to stay together and watch each other's back, but, I have to settle things with Grandfather, for Sakura and my own sake. I ask that I and Lancer be allowed to deal with this by ourselves, as this is strictly a Matou family affair."

"Nii-san! You can't take on Grandfather alone!" Sakura exclaimed with surprise. "Caster and I will go with you! Since it's our family, we-"

"No, Sakura." Surprisingly, it was Caster who had spoken. "I agree with Shinji's feelings. You must also know how Shinji feels about this, and must leave it for him to deal with."

"But, Nii-san!" Sakura pleaded.

"You and I will be heading for the Tohsaka mansion to deal with Archer." Caster added with clarity, surprising everyone, most of all Saber.

"Caster, I must persist. If you are allowing Shinji to deal with a personal matter, than I must insist that I be the one to deal with Archer."

"Absolutely not. You may think that my reason for being here is to make sure that Gilgamesh does not repeat what happened in my timeline, but that is only half of the truth. The other half is because of the promise I made to him, and I will be the one to deal with Archer." Caster firmly spoke.

"However, I do apologize, Saber. I know that as a knight you are extremely frustrated that you have not had a real battle to test yourself, but I must insist on dealing with Archer myself. As we know that you cannot defeat Gilgamesh, the only other remaining opponent, it really must be frustrating. But," she paused before continuing.

"We Servants depart after the Grail has been summoned, which normally happens when there is only one Servant left."

"You mean," Saber spoke, realizing Caster's words.

"Yes. I promise, that after I resolve things with Archer and we take down Gilgamesh, that I will fight you to the best of my abilities. I only request that you do the same," Caster added with a smirk.

Saber smiled before nodding. "I will look forward to it." She answered as the two women shook hands.

"Well than, we should be going," Caster said, and everyone nodded as they filed out, heading for the other side of Fuyuki where the two mansions were. At the door, Caster paused.

"Oh, and Lancer," she said. "There's something I need to discuss with you."

As the group approached the crossroads, an observer would have thought nothing of two young men and women walking late at night, probably returning home from a double date. But that was because they could not see the other two figures that silently trailed them.

As they approached, Caster flinched. There was someone, no, two, already at the crossing. While the light was low, she instantly knew who they were, and she quickly materialized in front of the rest of them and coolly.

"What a pleasant surprise to see you here this early, Archer and Master of Archer."

_BGM: Footsteps of Destruction – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Hmph. Good evening to all of you." Archer spoke, than flinched a bit in surprise. "What an unexpected surprise. Lancer, you bound yourself to that boy?" he asked the azure spearman.

"What's it to you, you damn cheating bowman?" Lancer answered as he grit his teeth.

"Nothing really, just an offhand curiosity. So what are you all doing out at night? It's quite dangerous as of late." He smirked.

"You know exactly why _I_ am here, Archer, for our reasons are the same. The only question is where do you want to settle things at?" Caster spoke, still with an icy tone. Archer was not the one who answered, however.

"How about right here, where you fought us last time, mistress of jewels?" Rin spoke in a crystal clear voice, her sapphire eyes glittering in the cool air.

Caster flinched, than relaxed with a sigh. It seemed that while Archer had had still not figured things out, Rin had at least started to piece the fragments together. She wasn't completely sure why Rin had not told Archer what she suspected, but she had a good idea. After all, she would want to be absolutely sure of her suspicions before she said anything. You would _have_ to, if you began thinking that you had encountered another _you_.

"As you wish." Caster replied, before turning to Shinji. "Go on ahead; you have your own matter to deal with."

Shinji nodded, and he and Lancer continued forward. As they walked past Archer and Rin, the silence was broken once again.

"What, you don't want to finish things between us, Lancer?" Archer prodded.

Lancer froze. "I have unfinished business with you, true. But I follow my Master's orders before my personal vendettas. Sheesh, the two of you can have each other," Lancer smirked before he grabbed a hold of Shinji's shoulder and together they vanished, already away at high speed for the Matou mansion.

"Hmm. Wonder what he meant by that," Archer murmured aloud, but silently thought to himself: When did Shinji gain Magic Circuits?

_BGM: Wandering Shadow – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Listen kid, I may not get to say this again, so I'll tell you now," Lancer told his Master as they arrived at the sinister dark mansion that he had visited the other day.

"Caster may have closed you off in that sphere so that no one could realize what was happening to you, but I share a bond with you as your Servant, so I was able to discern some of what went on."

Shinji flinched, but coolly said, "And? I know what I have done. All I can do now is what I can to atone for those sins and mistakes."

"I agree. After this War, it will be some time before we run into each other again, but when we do, if you've relapsed at any point in time before than," Shinji froze as he looked into the deep, piercing red eyes of his Servant.

"Hell will be heaven compared to what I will do to you."

Shinji gulped, and only nodded. Content with his answer, Lancer disappeared, and the two walked into the maw of darkness.

"Hehehehheheheheheheh…"

A low, hacking laugh met them shortly inside.

"Shinji, you seem to become deluded about what you should be doing."

The voice of Matou Zouken seemed to come from everywhere with the absence of light. Shinji steeled himself before replying back.

"I don't think so. I've realized how I've been nothing but a useless puppet for all my life; I **won't** let you use Sakura or myself as you see fit anymore!"

**Fwip!**

Something whipped through the air toward Shinji, but before it could connect-

**Clink!**

It deflected off of Lancers' spear, as both formed in front of Shinji, shielding him from harm.

"Heheheheheheheheh!! You found yourself a like-minded fool of a Servant as well, it seems! Now I really will have to begin considering you a threat. Meet us down in the basement, _boy_."

His grandfathers' cackling faded away before Lancer relaxed.

"It seems they want us there for some reason. Should we follow them?" he asked his Master.

"Yes. But be warned, there are…horrors down there that will make you sick to your stomach," Shinji answered.

Lancer shrugged. "As long as it isn't dog food…" he muttered.

Surprised, Shinji asked, "What?"

"Nothing, never mind."

They walked onward together, as Shinji led the way to Sakura's former room, and from there, the horrid basement. Lancer held his nose from the stench.

"It's worse than that cursed room in the church that damned priest always had locked up." He said, than, feeling a change in the air, quickly summoned Gae Bolg again, deflecting the two small daggers that had been aimed at his face and heart.

"Skilled you are indeed, Lancer." A new voice spoke as a pale mask visualized at the bottom of the stairs.

"Of course, projectiles are worthless against me," Lancer boasted confidently.

"We shall see, won't we?" Assassin whispered, before vanishing again.

"Move, kid!" Lancer shouted as he shoved Shinji down the stairs, deflecting three more daggers that had been aimed at his vital areas in the process.

Shinji landed hard at the base of the steps, as small metallic sounds could be heard throughout the room as Lancer continued to deflect Assassin's attacks while in pursuit.

"Kheheheheh. That Servant is much better than I expected of him. Perhaps you aren't so useless after all." Zouken said.

Only a few feet separated the two as Shinji stood up, still in pain from his violent landing.

"Grandfather, I meant what I said. I won't allow anymore harm to come to Sakura!" he shouted.

"Fool! What do you think you can do?" Zouken shouted as wriggling shapes formed out of the darkness and raced toward Shinji and enveloped him.

_BGM: Footsteps of Destruction – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Across the room, the blue and black figures continued their cat and mouse game. Assassin continued to flee while Lancer pursued. Occasionally Assassin would throw another Dark in an attempt to quickly end the rouse, but each effort proved to be futile as Lancer deflected each and everyone of the projectiles that approached him.

Finally, Lancer paused. Assassin, sensing that he had stopped, halted as well, crouched on the wall. _Just as well_, he thought to himself. _I'm out of Darks now_. He admired his adversary, knowing that it would bring him great pleasure now that he would be forced to use his Noble Phantasm. Lancer, on the other hand, was enraged.

"I remember saying that projectiles were useless against me, yet you continue to insult me!" he shouted at the pale bone mask.

"Never assume the same result will happen each time you do a task. There will always eventually be a deviation from the pattern that one can take advantage of. Unfortunately for me, it seems the pattern did not waver in time for me," Assassin answered his enemy calmly.

"Kheh! So that means you're already out of tricks? What a severe disappointment." Lancer spat back.

"Have you already forgotten that each Servant has their Noble Phantasm?" Assassin whispered.

Lancer's bestial eyes narrowed at this, and instinctively brought his lance to bear towards his opponent, beginning to gather energy for his own Noble Phantasm. He knew that as his opponent was the Assassin, his Noble Phantasm would surely be something that would kill him instantly if he could either not dodge it, or strike first. Assassin realized that the dark demonic energy coming from his opponent's weapon that Lancer also had a fatal blow, and began gathering mana in his right arm. The air between them, thick and rank already due to the nature of the room, only became fouler. Had a normal person been near at the time, they would be on the ground, yielding their lunch to the floor. The two Servants glared at each other for a few seconds, willing themselves to move first. Lancer suddenly jumped forward.

"**Gae–!**"

Assassin reacted, and whipped his arm into the air, a shadowy hand plunging at Lancer.

"**Zabi–!**"

It was too late to stop either of them, even had their Master's used their Command Seals. Both also realized what was about to happen, and Lancer grinned ferally. And although it was impossible to see behind the mask, Assassin felt his lips curl upwards as well.

"**Bolg!**"

"**Naya!**"

The world seemed still for a second or two, than the blood began to flow from both Servant's chest cavities. Assassin's heart was pierced completely through by the demonic lance; Lancer's was crushed in the grip of the shadowy hand. Frozen together in death's embrace, both slowly began to dissolve into pure mana, lingering momentarily before Assassin dissipated completely. However, Lancer's mana hovered towards the stairs, than sank into a black, human-shaped mass.

_BGM: Whirlpool of Fate – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

_No! Not…like…this!_ Shinji mentally yelled, not daring to open his mouth. But than he realized something. While the worms should have been leeching his energy away, killing him, it was not happening. Strange though it was, he could feel a warm energy flowing into him. It felt…_good_.

"What is this?" Zouken wondered aloud. "Why haven't you been consumed?!" he wheezed. Nothing like this had ever happened with the countless others he had consumed over the years. The only reason he even using the ability on the boy was because he had mana flowing through him now. Although he had first passed it off as somewhat of a backflow from the Lancer Servant, it was now apparent that the boy had abilities of his own that lay dormant.

Zouken could only watch in stunned confusion as his grandson emerged from the worms that engulfed him. With a jolt, he realized that the boy had actually _nullified_ his magic! Than he realized something else, something that caused him great concern: the look on the boy's face – he had never seen it before. His eyes were red, and almost looked…_feral_. There was also something in his hand, something long...

As Shinji stood, he looked around the room, than looked down at his hand in surprise. Quickly, he scanned the room again, than returned his fierce gaze to his grandfather. He was not sure what exactly had happened, but he realized something: Lancer was gone, yet not completely. His last effort was an attempt to give his Master an edge in his battle, which could never have happened had Shinji not been the Magus that he was.

As a Matou, his family's magical specialty was absorption. Shinji, in particular, was able to absorb spiritual particles for a limited time, something that Caster had noticed when Shinji had completed his self-atonement as she helped him to his feet. She had shared the information with Lancer as well, and now this was the result: Shinji stood in front of his grandfather with the same red eyes and weapon as his former Servant.

_BGM: The Golden King – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Well now," the golden Archer smirked to himself as he watched from afar. "Things have gotten a little interesting." The time was near. He could jump in now and snatch the prize now, but it would be more amusing to see who would actually prevail in the battle between _those_ two.

**End Chapter 12**

Chapter 13 Preview

**Cooled Ambition**

Two more Servants gone, now four remain.

And now, at last, comes the true contest.

Whoever shall prevail, there still lies two mighty tasks,

As the Golden King waits to steal his prize.


	16. Cooled Ambition

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to _Fate/Stay Night_, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 13: Cooled Ambition**

_BGM: Footsteps of Destruction – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Caster moved her eyes away from Archer and locked them onto Rin again, who was also glaring at her. She decided that now was a good time to end this farce that Archer had spun whenever he was summoned.

"Rin, was it?" She asked politely.

"My name is Tohsaka," Rin coolly shot back. "Archer is just the kind of person who tramples over the expectations of his Master is all."

"I understand," Caster nodded as she closed her eyes for an instant, than glared at Rin again. "All too well."

There was no reaction to this from her younger self.

"No flicker of surprise in your eyes. Good. I would have been disappointed had there been any."

One small reaction this time, a look of confusion and interest, but it quickly changed back to the emotionless mask.

"Well than, Tohsaka-san, would it interest you if I were to tell you that your suspicions towards me are quite accurate?"

The mask shattered in an instant as Rin's eyes opened wide in amazement and shock.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked the woman in front of her in a shaky voice.

"Come now. We both know that jewel magic does not come close to allowing one to read another's mind. Therefore, there are few answers as to how I know that you were suspecting that I am…"

Caster paused, only to move her gaze back towards Archer.

"Also of the Tohsaka family."

Archers' eyes opened wide in shock this time, but he neither said nor did anything else.

Rin, however, was visibly shaking at this revelation.

"But, since you knew Archer so well…"

"Ah, there it is. The calculating wit that Tohsaka Rin possessed. It is [i]so[/i] satisfying to find that I was not completely ignorant when I was younger," Caster finished as she flashed her younger self a genuine smile.

Rin and Archer stood in shock for several seconds, before they recovered. Rin was first, and her eyes caught the unmoved faces of Emiya Shirou and Sakura.

"They knew?" She asked, as her voice cracked.

"I told them a few hours ago." Caster confirmed.

"…How surprised were they?"

"Oh, I would say that between the two, you and Archer are taking this much better than they did," she smirked.

Rins' lips curled into a small smile as she pictured how much more surprised her sister and Emiya would have reacted. The smile grew wider, and she burst out laughing in spite of herself.

"I bet Emiya-kun was all like 'Y-Y-You?!?'" she managed in-between the tears that had formed in her eyes.

Shirou flinched, a movement that Rin did not miss despite her condition, and she doubled over again.

Caster, although enjoying the moment, knew that this could only continue on for so long.

"Yes, well, now that you've had your bit of fun, it's time for mine."

She than turned to Archer.

"Are you still clinging to that idiotic explanation that you don't remember who you are?"

Archer scowled but said nothing. Rin's eyebrows were arched and she stopped laughing. Before she could ask her question, Caster raised her right arm and continued.

"Well than, I believe you owe everyone an explanation, don't you? Tell us your name, Archer!" She yelled. The final red half circle vanished from her arm.

Archer was pissed, now forced to do something he never wanted to do, yet his voice, which did not feel like his voice, spoke five words while he could do nothing to stop himself.

"My name is Emiya Shirou."

Interlude

_BGM: Wandering Shadow – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

He could scarcely believe what the boy had become. Just a few days ago he was nothing more than a normal human who wanted desperately to possess magic. Now that he had it, it seemed that desperation was gone. Not only that, but his entire personality seemed to have changed. The boy was arrogant, crude, and disrespectful to everyone, a wretched creature. The one that stood before him now had displayed none of these characteristics since he had walked in with his former Servant, whom he seemed to have absorbed or bonded with. What exactly had the boy gone through to have changed him so drastically? He kept spouting nonsense that he wasn't going to allow him to live, to hunt Sakura.

The boy was a fool. Since the girls' infernal Tohsaka Servant had severed his worms from her body, they no longer had a connection. True, if he could recover her, he would be able to insert the worms again to control her, but the point would be moot. The sole reason he had done so was to use the girl to obtain the Grail for him so that he could obtain true immortality. Any hope of that was gone now; he wouldn't be able to get near the girl and her Servant now that his final pawn, Assassin, had been defeated. The only thing he could do now was to kill the boy and prepare for the next war.

"Boy, you truly are a fool. I'm pleasantly surprised that you had [i]this[/i] ability hidden within you all these years, but even with the powers of that Servant it is impossible for you to kill me."

He knew that the boy knew about the special connection he had with the worms; that as long as one of them survived, even if he was killed he would simply transfer his soul into a worm, and absorb as many humans as it took to regain form.

The boy simply smiled and spoke three words that, while he didn't know them, came naturally to him.

"Gar Eoh Ing."

Interlude Out

_BGM: Emiya – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Everyone except Caster and Archer were stunned. None of them could believe what the white-haired Servant had just declared, under the force of the Command Spell. Archer was Emiya Shirou? Absurd. While most of them couldn't fathom how it was possible, one reluctantly considered all she knew. The way he acted since his summoning. The fact that while he was Archer he was also a Magus. That Caster knew everything she did about Archer. Since it was true that Caster was Tohsaka Rin, it was entirely possible that Archer was Emiya Shirou.

Thus, Rin calmly turned to Archer and slapped him as hard as she could.

"Bastard."

The initial shock on everyone's face at the slap quickly faded, silently agreeing with Rin.

"Rin, do you know why Servant's participate in this War?" Archer coolly asked, not looking at her.

"Of course," she replied, just as coldly. "Servants participate in this War for the Grail. Why else would Heroic Spirits agree to be bound to lesser beings such as humans?"

Archer cursed. "The Grail. What a joke. I never needed the Grail. Just ask him."

Rin turned back to him, incredulous. "Than why were you called to me?"

Archer continued to stare straight ahead, but focused his gaze on Caster.

"I don't feel like explaining this anymore. If she wants to know more, you tell her."

"As you wish," Caster nodded, and pulled out a familiar ruby pendant.

"Hey, I remember that." Shirou said. "It was on the ground next to me when I awoke after Lancer stabbed me."

Rin blinked in surprise. "But I still have that pendant at home, Archer gave it back to me after–" she froze in midsentence. "Wait a minute. If we both have one when only one should exist, and you have the one I dropped, than that means that…"

Caster nodded. "Emiya Shirou owns the same pendant, having kept it as a memento of the one who saved him after being stabbed by Lancer. Heroic Spirits summoned by Masters are usually similar to the Master's personality; one full of righteousness will call forth a similar Servant. However, if the Master has in their possession a relic of a certain Hero, and uses it in the summoning, it is more likely that Servant will be summoned to that Master. That is how you summoned Archer, because you both own that pendant. That is how Sakura summoned me, as I kept the ribbon from her hair after the unfortunate…incident…in my timeline." She turned her head to glance at the young girl for a moment, ignoring the questioning look she knew Rin had on her face, before settling her gaze on the young man beside her. "And it is how Shirou summoned Saber, despite the vast differences between the two."

Everyone blinked in surprise, excluding the two who already knew everything.

"But how? I didn't even try to summon Saber when it happened, it just…_happened_." Shirou stuttered.

Caster smiled. "Did you never wonder why you never get sick, or how you recovered from the fatal wound Berserker gave you? Or how you survived the fire when you should have died?" She turned to Saber. "I think you can venture a guess. The sword always has a scabbard, does it not?"

Saber blinked in surprise, but nodded. "Yes, Kiritsugu did summon me by using my scabbard as a focus. I should have made the connection that Shirou would have used it to summon me as well. But if my summoning was accidental, how was I summoned?"

"I'm still not quite sure on that part, but as the scabbard happens to be part of him, it isn't quite so surprising for the scabbard to have called forth the sword in it's time of need," Caster answered before returning her gaze to Rin and Archer.

"One thing still needs to be discussed, than you will all know just how everything is connected. Unfortunately it is one I do not have the answer for," and narrowed her eyes at Archer. "I'm sure that the reason you participate in this War is to be able to kill your younger self. The only question I want answered is why."

Archer merely shrugged and smirked. "You think I'll tell you that? You used up your last Command Spell to force me to tell everyone who I am."

"That may be true, but I still have two to use on you," Rin said.

"Be that as it may, I would ask you not to, Rin." Caster said surprisingly.

"But, why?" Rin asked.

"Because beating the answer out of him will be much more satisfying," she said as the Jeweled Sword formed in her hands.

Rin's eyes bugged out for a second as she recognized the weapon, than recomposed herself long enough to say, "Of course. I won't stand in your way."

Archer gave form to his falchions. "About time. I was wondering when you would all shut up and fight."

Caster continued to smile. "But if everyone was still ignorant about everything else, it wouldn't be as fun," she said as she charged forward.

**End Chapter 13**

Chapter 14 Preview

**Jeweled Swords**

The Dark Patriarch falls, but is he truly destroyed?

What shall become of the young man now?

The fight between former Master and Servant begins in earnest,

As the Grail comes closer to completion.


	17. Jeweled Swords

Whew! This took me a bit longer than I wanted because I've been hammered with Christmas crap at work for the past two weeks. (But than again, many of us have been, right?)

Please, enjoy the fight between Caster and Archer!

Oh, and as a side note, if you do not have it, **get** _Emiya#0_. Damn good song, and I used in this Chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to _Fate/Stay Night_, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 14: Jeweled Swords**

_BGM: Clashing Souls – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Without knowing the history between the two Servants, it would be unfathomable for an Archer and a Caster class Servant to engage each other in battle using _swords_ – but then again, these two were more than normal Servants. They glided across the ground as if they were dance partners, colliding over and over again, not giving an inch to the other. Kansho and Bakuya sang and danced as they sought Caster's flesh, yet they could not connect; every blow was countered at the last possible second by Casters' Jeweled Sword.

Low sweep with a mid-to-high cross, followed by a double feint with Kansho thrust forward while Bakuya guarded; dual-overhand, dual-underhand, sweeping crosses, delayed slices, delayed thrusts. Nothing worked!

Archer frowned. He knew that while it was possible for other Servants proficient with weapons, such as Lancer or Saber, would be able to keep up with him while he used these blades, it should have been impossible for Caster to do so after only a few blows, let alone for this long.

Caster, seeing his confusion, smiled.

"Did you really think that when I finally found you I would come unprepared? You know better than that. I'm a perfectionist to a fault!" She yelled as she accelerated towards him again.

Then she surprised him by hurling a small object at him; one of her jewels. Archer ducked to the side, already set to counter the mysterious blade again.

He wasn't given a chance.

Archer let out an involuntary grunt of pain as Caster's knee connected squarely with his jaw, just as she had intended with the sacrificial jewel. She followed up with a fist to the collarbone, a swift kick to the shin, and an elbow to the head, all of which connected cleanly, sending Archer flying backward several feet.

Caster paused to allow Archer to get back to his feet, using the break to speak her mind.

"Ready to tell me the reason why you fight?"

Archer growled out his answer.

"I already told you, I'm here to kill Emiya Shirou!"

"And I told you to tell me why! Your 'objective' is not important! The 'reason' is!" Caster shouted back at him.

Archer erupted in rage.

"You fool! Don't even think to tell me the reason you became the same as me was for such a childish reason! This hellish existence is the most painful one possible!" He shouted, as a dark bow formed in his hands.

Casters' eyes narrowed.

"Childish? You dare to suggest _my_ reason for doing this is childish?! I think I know now why you're being so stupid. You actually believe that if you can kill Emiya Shirou, here, now, during the Holy Grail War, that you'll create a paradox within the world so great that it will nullify its contract with you and free you, don't you?"

Archer said nothing, but Caster could see the confirmation in his eyes.

"You selfish bastard. I'm going to beat that attitude out of you if it's the last thing I do!" she howled.

Archers' lips curled into a snarl. "It's the only option left to me now, and the only one for you too, once you realize it. Until you do, think it over back at that place!" he shouted as an unusual spiral sword formed in his right hand, before he changed it's form into that of an arrow and set the bow at his target.

**"Caladbolg!"** He shouted as he released the string, the missile rocketing towards Caster.

Caster stood her ground and two words came out of her mouth that Archer never expected her to utter.

**"Rho Aius!"**

Interlude

_BGM: Quiet Voice – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"What can we do to even try to take that Goldie on?" she asked her friend.

"I've had a thought on that," he told her. "I searched around in old books and stories for the most famous defense, and I came up with this." He handed a book to her, and she blinked in confusion when she saw the title.

"Well, certainly Achilles was nearly invulnerable, but I doubt you could somehow make us as invincible as that," she snorted.

"Of course," he confirmed, "but who said I was talking about Achilles? The Greeks were never able to break into the city of Troy, despite all of their vast military might. Why was that?" He smiled at her.

"Because the gate was…" she paused as it dawned on her. "Because the gates of Troy were impregnable."

Her friend nodded in confirmation. "We can at least try it, it should work in theory."

"Yes, but the only way to test it would be to take that bastard on again," she said as her expression fell. "And if it doesn't work, you'll be killed!"

"Yeah, about that…" the young man began, but stopped.

"What is it, Shirou?" she asked with concern.

"Rin, I think it's time I taught _you_ magic for a change," he answered with a smile.

Interlude Out

_BGM: Emiya#0 – Fate/Another Score Soundtrack_

"W-what the hell is this?" Archer demanded his opponent. The Caladbolg he had just fired might have been negated by some of the other Servants, but Caster was just like him; an ordinary human granted extraordinary power by the world. While it _was_ possible that she could have gained the ability to use Projection, but she most likely would have died shortly after her contract, so she wouldn't have had any time to do basic Projection, let alone something of the magnitude of Rho Aius. But she _had_ done it. Tohsaka Rin, genius Magus, had successfully cast the type of magic she had never been able to do with perfect efficiency.

…Or at least, that's what everyone who witnessed the event was fooled into believing, with the exception of Rin.

She was the only one who had seen the familiar gleam of gems as several of them had separated from Casters' garments and formed together to make the pink flower-like shield that had nullified Archers' attack. Whatever Caster had done seemed to have shaken Archer to his core, so she reasoned that whatever Caster had done, Archer couldn't believe it, even though it was a fake. She was impressed.

"An illusion to fool an illusionist," she muttered under her breath.

Caster, for her part, resisted the urge to smile and reveal her trick to him now, but those words from Archer were still digging into her like a spear.

_Bastard. How dare he say that?! It's his fault that I'm here like this now!_

"This situation is entirely your fault!" she yelled at Archer, causing him to snort again.

"Quit trying to push your pathetic reasons for becoming what you are onto me. Any fool who makes a pact with the world does so for their own reasons, and their reasons alone. There _cannot_ be any blame, anger, or hatred towards anyone but yourself, Caster. Believe me, I know." He replied, scowling as he finished.

"Shut up!" she shouted as she threw another jewel, a topaz this time, at him.

Dodging quickly to the side, Archer Projected Kansho and Bakuya again, hurling them both at Caster, hoping that the opening she had created would finally allow him a blow.

He was not disappointed.

The black and white swords scored a cut on her right arm and left hip, causing Caster to let out a howl of pain.

Caster jumped away quickly, leaving gems in her wake that exploded as she continued her retreat, preventing Archer from pressing his first advantage of the fight.

However, he closed the ground quickly as he came up from her side, and Caster just barely managed to get Zelretch around in time to block the oncoming blow of

Another Zelretch?

"You really want to die, don't you?" Caster calmly said to Archer, before he forced her back with the weight of his blows.

"I just wanted to find out exactly what this uncanny blade of yours would be like to wield," he answered, not really caring what Caster thought.

Disgusted, Caster charged back in, her hand closed around Zelretch. She hurled more gems wildly ahead of her, in effect like a shotgun, hoping to knock Archer off his feet.

Archer jumped backward, avoiding them all, but the force of one of the rubies that exploded where he had been moments before caused him to miss his landing and end up flat on his back.

Caster mercilessly kicked him with such force that he was lifted clean off the ground, which she followed up with a lightning-fast slice to the shoulder and a roundhouse to the chest, sending Archer flying several feet this time.

Archer noted that while Casters gems came from her clothes, her dress was still flawless. He deduced that she was replenishing them with her personal mana stores. However, even if her mana had been doubled by the world she would have hit her limit to replenish gems with this much mana in them a long time ago. The answer had to reside in the sword she wielded.

His memories didn't contain anything on the strange, crystallized blade, but as it was akin to a jewel itself, he believed that the sword itself was replenishing her mana. So, he decided to Project it himself, thinking that if nothing else it would restore his mana to the maximum without having to rely on Rin, but he felt nothing of the sort.

"Bah, this is a waste of time!" He spat as a kick connected with Caster, sending her flying back. Seeing an opportunity, Archer began to concentrate.

**"I am the bone of my sword."**

Caster desperately threw a sapphire at him, knowing what Archer had started all too well.

**"Steel is my body, and fire is my blood."**

Archer merely deflected the poorly thrown gem at Shirou, whom Saber stepped in front of, nullifying the ice magic contained within.

**"I have created over a thousand blades."**

He than threw three pairs of the twin blades towards Caster, their flight path surrounding her in a hexagonal pattern.

**"Unknown to death,"**

Caster deflected two of the blades, (the ones aimed at her throat and heart) but the remaining four sliced into her, opening up more wounds on her legs and shoulders.

**"Nor known to life."**

Caster collapsed to the ground, temporarily exhausted from moving constantly and from her wounds.

**"Have withstood pain to create many weapons."**

And still, Archer continued his personal spell, even as he conjured one more pair of Kansho and Bakuya.

**"Yet, those hands will never hold anything."**

Prepared to end the battle now, Archer rushed forward again, ready to cleave Caster in two.

_"A-Aufgeschlusselt Projektion!"_ Caster hurriedly shouted the incantation, willing reality once more to forcibly remove that which should not exist.

The twin blades exploded in the air, mere inches from Archer, who had immediately hurled the weapons into the air and jumped away.

Music Out

The silence that followed was deafeningly loud. Both simply looked at each other with cool eyes, each recognizing that this spot was not the best place for this battle.

"Would you mind if we moved to a different location? If we continue like this we'll cause an even bigger disaster than the Fire." Caster suggested.

"Agreed. Do you have a suggestion?" Archer asked.

"I think you have the same place in mind as I do," Caster answered and immediately jumped forward past everyone, towards the river, and beyond that, her destination.

"Unfortunately, I believe I do," Archer growled, as he took off after Caster.

That left the three Masters and Saber alone, still shocked by the entire scene they had so far witnessed, before they realized that they were now alone.

"W-what the hell was all that?" Shirou asked softly as he regained the use of his voice.

"A battle between Servants," Rin answered for him, although in the same breathless tone as Shirou had done.

"To think that the two of you have the potential to be so skilled and powerful is miraculous," Saber stated.

"Nee-san, Sempai, you two can be scary," Sakura whispered.

"Do any of you have an idea as to where they could have taken off to?" Saber asked.

"I have a couple of ideas," Rin answered. "They will surely go to a location that would be isolated, but still open enough for what they have planned."

"…" Shirou was silent. Based on what Rin had just said, and what Caster had mentioned, he could only think of one place in the immediate area like that.

"They'll be at the scene of that Fire ten years ago."

Interlude

_BGM: Whirlpool of Fate – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Shinji stood over the remains of his grandfather, the frozen look of disbelief and fear on the ancient creatures' face was his last, albeit an unusual one, at least to him. He had never seen it before.

"I doubt you can hear me anymore, grandfather, but just in case you can, I'll explain to you what that was. Well, at least I'll try, I really don't know for sure," he added. "As for what _Gar Eoh Ing_ actually means, I don't know, nor do I care. All I care about is that it's what allowed Lancer to kill Berserker, and, more importantly, it's what allowed me to kill _you_."

As he finished, the aftereffects of his ability finally caught up with him, and the spear and red eyes disappeared as Shinji fell into unconsciousness. However, before he blacked out entirely, he heard a voice say something to him.

_"Heh, good job, Master."_

Interlude Out

_BGM: Quiet Voice – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

As Caster arrived at the dark, ruined area that symbolized what could be the rest of the world, she paused to reflect over things. Everything, actually.

It really wasn't fair. She never wanted to become this kind of being. She just wanted to be a normal Magus, and she had been all her life. So why did she choose that path? To protect the world? Surely that was obvious; otherwise the world would not have presented her with that choice. But still, even though she was always a kind-hearted person and would protect those close to her, she never did feel such a kindness towards anyone she had no connection towards. Nor did she have the strength to try. One could argue that the destruction that had been unleashed in the wake of Gilgamesh's victory could say the situation reforged her strength and will, but that would be wrong as well. The situation didn't reforge her.

Someone else did.

One whom never stopped running from the moment she had first seen him those many years ago as she left school that day.

She stopped reminiscing as she felt Archer's presence approach.

_BGM: Into the Night – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Do you approve of this place as the battleground?" She asked without turning around to face him.

"Yes. However, I have one question."

"'Why?' It fits, does it not? This is where it all began," she answered.

"True. Very well than," Archer answered, closing his eyes to continued his spell.

**"So as I pray,"**

Caster whirled around instantly. "I see you're through playing around," she smirked, readying her Sword for combat.

Archer responded only with a sly grin.

**"Unlimited Blade Works!"**

**End Chapter 14**

For those of you going "WTF! Why stop here?!?" It honestly hurts me a little to do so, but the whole battle I have down is too big for one chapter, even when I take out all of the fluff that I threw in.

So, look for part two sometime around Thansgiving, or shortly after!

Chapter 15 Preview

**Hill of Swords**

**"I was the bone of my sword."**

**"This forged body of fire and steel."**

**"I have created over a thousand blades,"**

**"And destroyed one world."**

**"Everything has been lost,"**

**"With nothing to be gained,"**

**"There is only hope."**

**"I have plenty of regrets,"**

**"But I cannot turn back."**

**"Eternally onwards, Unlimited Blade Works."**


	18. Hill of Swords

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to [i]Fate/Stay Night[/i], nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 15: Hill of Swords**

_BGM: Into the Night – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

The park lit up as a fire so alike to it's previous destruction and current situation smoldered as Emiya Shirous' Reality Marble appeared.

Unlimited Blade Works: A desolate world of fire and steel where nothing alive existed. The only occupants were the vast swords, some with names, others without, and one that was conscious, as it's gray eyes looked at Caster with calm resolve.

_"Aufgeschlusselt Projektion!"_ Caster called out her spell, but as she expected, no explosions came forth from the infinite swords in this world. Within a Reality Marble, everything that was Archer was reality here.

Besides, if she had been wrong and everything had exploded, than both she and Archer would have perished from the explosions. _Not really the best idea_, she told herself in retrospect.

She paid for it physically too, as a Kansho bit into her already injured right shoulder.

"You do realize that while most epic spirits could defeat me here, beings such as you and I have no chance?" Archer threw at Caster.

She merely chuckled. "There's another thing you forgot. You'll never know unless you try!" She shouted as she started forward again, only to be pierced through the feet by a dark and a silver sword.

"Enough of your foolishness!" Archer shouted in response. "You may look like her, you may act like her, you may speak like her, but you are definitely not Rin. Rin was smart, she always had a plan. But you are more like the boy, always rushing forward without any concern for yourself."

"I won't deny that. But who could have changed that little girl to become like the little boy?" she asked him, feeling a bit flushed.

"Don't you dare say that it was me," Archer began to growl, but Caster interrupted him.

"Shut up, I wasn't referring to you anyways. You passed in my War well before the end, so how could you know anything?!" She erupted in anger.

"Oho, finally we come to the reason you blame me for your existence," Archer smirked.

Seething inside, but somehow keeping her cool, Caster continued.

"The night Shirou was lured out of his home you took the opportunity to follow him. You killed Caster, than took his left arm. Thankfully before you could finish the job, Saber did her duty and protected her Master, after finishing Assassin moments before. I arrived almost immediately after, unable to obtain any answers from you, too late to save Shirou's arm, but thankfully not too late to prevent Saber from disappearing."

Archers' eyes perked up, but he realized what Caster was getting at. He had taken the arm with the Command Seals on it, and with it, had severed the bond between the boy and Saber, and thus nullifying the enhanced regeneration the Scabbard had given him. Still, that couldn't be the end of it.

"So? None of that relates to you–"

"Can you please shut up and let me finish?!" Caster spat venomously, her chest on fire. "Afterwards, the War swiftly came to a close because of that _other_ Archer."

Archer's breath caught in his throat. Of course, without him or the boy able to fight, or without Saber having the scabbard, there would be no one capable of defeating Gilgamesh.

"Oh we tried, but failed every time. He took Saber in the end, while Shirou and I struggled just to survive. You know how painful this place is to you. How do you think _I_ felt after the entire _world_ became just as lifeless?" She finished, her voice barely a whisper from the burning feeling.

"So, that is what happened after I passed the last time," Archer murmured, than focused intently on Caster again. "Fool."

Although now in immense pain, Caster looked up, shocked but incredulous.

"Fool." Archer repeated. "If that was the eventual outcome, it was better to let that world die than to doom your existence to eternal damnation!"

"Damn…you…" Caster barely managed to eek out over the pain. Why was she in so much pain that she thoroughly believed that she was on fire?

"I'm already damned, as are you. To think that you tried to pass off everything that happened to you onto me. That you chose to become a being like myself over something so frivolous. That you somehow felt compelled to take up that damned ideal! Drown in that twice borrowed thing and die with it!" Archer spat in disgust, as slashed downward with Kansho.

**Clang!**

A bright red light emitted from the ruby pendant around Casters' neck as it separated itself from around her neck to block Archer's deadly blade. The fiery world flashed an even deeper red before it dissipated, allowing darkness to return to the park.

Both Servants stared at the fist-sized gem in surprise as the light from it focused in front of Caster, solidifying into a form that was familiar, and yet different.

White hair. Pale skin. Tattered clothing. Those never-dimming brown orbs. A familiar sight to both of them, but with one difference that Caster could never forget.

His left arm was missing from the elbow down.

Interlude

_BGM: Ever-Present Feeling – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"You idiot! Why did you go off and fight him alone again!" a young woman shouted at the bloodied, impaled body on the dark earth, amid the maniacal laughter of narcissism and evil personified.

"I…truly believed…that…I…could beat him…this time," he whispered, his amber orbs mixed with his scarlet essence, causing them to look as if they were almost ablaze.

"Damnit! I won't forgive you for this, you dumbass!" She wept loudly; they both knew that he was about to die, and there was nothing that either of them could do to save him.

"Heheh…I'll just have…to make you…forgive…" he paused as a coughing fit caused him to hack up a large mouthful of blood.

"Don't you dare say it Shirou. Don't you dare!" she shouted even louder through her tears.

"I'll always…be with you…I…love you…Tohsaka…" he sighed, as his hand slowly reached upwards to stroke her hair, but his strength failed, and his hand fell instead onto the symbol that had bought him escape from his first brush with death. As he fell into death's embrace, he heard her answer.

"I love you too, idiot," she whispered as she lowered her face and kissed him one last time.

Emiya Shirou died with a smile on his face.

Interlude Out

_BGM: Emiya – Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Caster and Archer were speechless. Standing in front of them was a being neither of them could fathom should exist, but here was a third Emiya Shirou in front of them, minus the left arm. Neither of them could think of anything to say, but the newest person spoke first.

"Is that…you, Tohsaka?" he asked, curious.

Caster immediately burst into tears, managing only to nod over and over at the one person she never thought she'd ever see again.

Shirou took a second to grasp his surroundings, than locked his eyes onto Archer, giving Caster a glance.

"Well, by the looks of things we don't have time to try and figure out how I'm here," he muttered as Kansho appeared in his hand.

"Miraculous as this may be, I really don't care. Besides, what do you think you can do with only one arm?" Archer gloated.

"Why don't you come test me out, you bastard," Shirou replied cooly. "Tohsaka, stay back for a bit will ya?"

Knowing full well what he was capable of, Caster raised her head as she wiped the tears from her eyes and said:

"Show 'em what you got!"

Shirou settled himself into a defensive posture, relaying to Archer that he wanted him to attempt to draw first blood, of which he was all too eager to respond to, dashing forward at near inhuman speed, Kansho rushing in to create an opening for Bakuya to score home on his side.

Shirou merely spun around, causing Archer's first attack to miss completely before slaming the butt of his Kansho directly into Archer's back, knocking the wind out of him. He immediatly followed up with lightning-fast slices that were forcing Archer to defend himself with both blades, barely getting them up and around in time to deflect the short sword before it could damage anything.

Caster stood there, watching in awe again of her Shirou's performance. One of the first things they had to do was to work together to increase both his physical and mental speed, for with an arm missing, he had to come up with a new form of swordsmanship, for it was impossible for him to use Emiya Shirou's best style of sword fighting.

The ringing of the three blades as they continously collided with each other was becoming excruiating painful to the ear, yet the two men showed no signs of letting up. Archer, however, was getting tired of allowing this version of himself to continue slashing at him. As the next blow came in, he threw all of his weight into pushing forward as he blocked it, and forced Shirou backward, throwing him off balance for just a second, but that was all the time he needed as he reversed their positions, hacking and hammering away at Shirous' Kansho. It would only be a matter of time before he either manuevered through his guard or the blade broke as it always did after too much stress. Sure enough, after a few more seconds he could see and feel the cracks in the blade, and he poured more strength into his next blow, shattering Kansho as he shoved both blades towards his heart.

**CLANG!**

Archer staggered backward from the unexpected resistance he had encountered, and from the small wound in his chest. Yet when he refocused on his opponent, he paused in confusion. This man was just beginning to Project another Kansho, so what had stopped him from killing him? What had wounded him?

Shirou both let out a small smile, as a small, gnarled dagger emerged from the empty space where his arm should have been.

**"I am the bone of my sword,"** he murmured.

Gritting his teeth in pure annoyance, as he felt his mana being suppressed by a weak (although still effective) Rule Breaker, Archer jumped back, forming a bow and firing a scissor-shaped arrow that he had created from Kansho and Bakuya, which streaked towards his opponent before splitting in two to come at him from his sides.

A bright fuschia colored shield emerged from the man as it absorbed the force of the twin arrows, rendering them useless, before he created a bow of his own along with detatching the Caliburn from his arm and firing it towards Archer, missing as it rocketed towards the river, impacting the boat that had taken an Excalibur blast from the previous War, this time being obliterated by the explosion.

Interlude

"Holy shit!" Rin exclaimed as a streaking ray of gold seared past her, impacting the boat several hundred yards away in the river.

She, Shirou, Sakura and Saber had caught up with Archer and Caster just as he was about to deal her a death blow, before the latest set of obscure, bizarre occurances had happened.

All of them were mesmerized by the skill displayed between the two alternate versions of Emiya Shirou.

A short ways away, however, one person scowled, growing quite bored with the whole thing.

Interlude Out

Both men Projected ten different sets of Kansho and Bakuya within the space of a breath, and sent them whirling towards each other, deflecting endlessly as they danced within (literally) a vortex of blades. The slightest mistep, they both knew, would result in them being turned into a bloody mess, but both continued to slice, parry, and counter each other in an attempt to force that small mistake in the other. Finally, fed up with the waiting, both attempted risky manuevers; a trip, caught each others feet and feel forward, both shouting in pain as the numerous twins turned their flesh into hacked meat.

Archer quickly jumped away before collapsing as he began to heal, yet Shirou was not healing. He forced himself struggling to his feet, and the initial confusion that had settled onto Archer's face turned to realization: this Emiya Shirou was still human, not a Servant, and would not have the additional benefits to being one.

**"Damnit you two! Enough already!"** Caster shouted at the top of her lungs.

Both of the combatents, shocked, looked over at her, who was on her knees, sobbing.

"Stop fighting! I never wanted any of this to happen! I didn't want to make a pact with the world, I didn't want the Holy Grail, and I didn't want anything more to do with any of this stupid situation!" she howled. "All I wanted...was to be with the idiot I fell in love with! Why else would I force myself into the same situation one of you is in?! You always kept running forward, no matter what. I never thought I would be able to catch you from the moment I saw you on the track that day. But than you stopped moving, not only that, you even tried to destroy the path you had blazed ahead for yourself! Don't you see? I had to accept the pact because _someone_ had to come along and kick you in the ass to get you moving again!!"

Emiya Shirou, one and all, were speechless.

"Tsk, is this all I was looking forward to? What a rather boring display!"

A cold voice broke the eery silence that had settled, as a blade pierced the one-armed Shirous' chest, blood blossoming from the wound as he instantly expired, disappearing, leaving only a small, shattered ruby on a silver chain lying on the grass.

Archer, Saber, Shirou and Rin would have met the same fate, had they not dodged the swords that had been aimed at them. (Saber had grabbed Shirou and Rin and dodged with them)

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the remaining mage.

Sakura froze in fear as she saw the other Emiya Shirou disappear in front of her eyes. She turned around to avoid looking at the scene, only to lock onto the red eyes of a man covered in gold armor. He smiled and snapped his fingers, shackling her limbs as he held the chains in his hands.

"I will _never_ soil my hands with the flesh of a mongrel," he spat before he astralized, taking Sakura with him.

Silence followed for a few seconds, before all five shouted:

**"Sakura!"**

**End Chapter 15**

Chapter 16 Preview

**Ruin and Destruction**

With everything revealed, the finale begins.

All race towards the Temple, to save their precious one.

However, can they defeat the Golden King with their one real hope weakened?


	19. Ruin and Destruction

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to _Fate/Stay Night_, nor do I wish to be seen as someone who does. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

**Chapter 16: Ruin and Destruction**

_BGM: Breach - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

"Haa, haa, haa... Hah!"

Shirou and Rins' lungs were burning as they continued to run, along with Archer and Saber, towards the mountain temple.

All four of them had grim expressions on their faces. They knew what was waiting for them, and even though the odds were in their favor, numbers meant nothing when going up against a superior force such as Gilgamesh.

The original king of heroes, who possessed over one thousand treasures.

Saber had fought him in the last war, but could not claim victory over him. She managed to win by destroying the Holy Grail when she had been forced to by Kiritsugu.

Archer could defeat him, he knew it. But, Emiya Shirous' only magic is the ability to put shape to his mind, the curse of the Rule Breaker the one-armed version of himself had pierced him with was making it almost impossible to do so. Perhaps it hadn't been a complete copy of the Noble Phantasm, as it's ability nullified all magical contracts, and while most Servants would be significantly weakened after being cut off from their Master's supply of mana, the Archer class was supposed to be able to act in better form than most in that situation.

But than again, that would be true for most Servants, who were epic heroes. Emiya Shirou could not be considered one of them. He was a mere human who defied everything he could with his abilities, but without a supply he was no longer able to do so.

Merely existing was draining his internal mana, of which there was not much to begin with. Invoking his Reality Marble was beyond him now, and every use of Projection would hasten his eventual disappearance. The only use Servant Archer was to anyone now was to act as a wall for Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou when Gilgamesh turned his attention towards them.

They all knew the forthcoming result of any encounter with Gilgamesh. He would eventually push Saber into a corner, and defeat her. Than he would dispatch Archer's weakened attempts to fend him off, and finally, kill the two Masters before he completed the Grail into the weapon of ultimate destruction.

_BGM: Wandering Shadow - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

That outcome would surely become something different, if Servant Caster had any will left to fight.

"Not...again...Not...again...Not...again..." she muttered the same two words over and over.

There were no physical wounds on her body, nor was her ability to use her magic impaired. The mental scars that had formed because of events similar to now had completely reopened.

Indeed, her form was certainly pathetic, down on her knees with her head buried in her hands, small cries of denial issuing forth from her over and over.

Truthfully, it was something she should have been able to brush off with no trouble at all. She should have recovered and set off for the temple with the others in order to end this conflict for good.

So than, why couldn't she move?

But she knew why.

Every time she began to think about getting up, that face appeared.

It was the face that had haunted her every night for over twenty years.

The face of Sakura, crying out in desperation for her to help her, and not being able to do anything about it.

Yes, Gilgamesh had certainly fled before she could do anything. Perhaps, had he had stayed she would not have become the gibbering wreck she was at the moment. But because he had fled, she had reverted back to being a broken child, convinced that for all the power she had at her command, she was powerless to attempt the one thing she had to do.

It was very much like a sniper who had been ordered to assassinate a target, but could not pull the trigger, even if his life was forfeit if he was not able to do it.

Now the only thing that ran through her mind were the memories that she had of when Gilgamesh had succeeded in her world.

A different voice was added to the soft wails of Caster, and while she heard the words, nothing registered.

"Hey, Caster!" Matou Shinji shouted at the sprawled woman as he quickly ran up.

_BGM: Ever-present Feeling - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Shinji took in the sight before him. This woman, whom he had met only a few days ago, was definitely not an ally to him. Indeed, on many of the occasions that she had spoken to him, she had threatened and bullied him every time.

Surprisingly, it did not bother him. Instead, the image before him brought a long forgotten memory to the forefront of his mind.

It had been about a year ago, on his way home from school after staying late at the archery club.

He was walking down the road when he saw the school idol staring longingly towards the direction of his home, with a strange look on her face. He wouldn't call it sorrow, remorse, or even concern. He didn't know exactly what that expression was, but it struck a chord deep within him.

That was the day that Matou Shinji truly fell for Tohsaka Rin.

And suddenly, a few things clicked into place for him, and he recalled a certain phrase the old man had left him to tell _her_. He knew now for sure that Caster was the one he was supposed to relay that sentence for.

And so he knelt by her side, and whispered it into her ear.

All of a sudden Casters' eyes fluttered open, and she lifted her head to lock her eyes with Shinji.

He nodded his head, as his mouth formed into a gentle smile.

"So, you ready to go?"

_BGM: The Golden King - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Saber bit her lip as blood fell from it, forcing her creaking legs to stand back up.

She had already been blown away by Gilgamesh's incredible sword twice. The power contained within the blade known as Ea was unfathomable. One blow should have been enough to destroy several blocks, but she had somehow survived not one but two attacks from the blade. That in itself was miraculous.

But she was at her limit. She could barely move anymore, and she would not be able to even defend herself if Gilgamesh tried to do anything more.

Across from her, the Golden King smiled ruthlessly. He knew as well that the fight was over, that he had won his prize.

Saber glowered her eyes at him and, incredibly, brought her sword to bear once more.

Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"What do you think you're doing, Saber? We both know who is superior here. I'm disappointed that the sword thought of as the greatest in human history couldnt even begin to compare with my mine, but it's only natural, of course. I just hope your body won't compare to that of your weapon when I make it mine as well," he said with a grin that was almost feral.

Saber did not say anything in response. She couldn't stop him anymore, everyone could see that. But, Archer still had not seemed to recover, so if she fell, there would be nothing to prevent Gilgamesh from finishing Archer, Rin and Shirou in a matter of seconds.

So, for that reason alone, she let out a cry of defiance and charged in again.

She never got near Gilgamesh. Correction. She wasn't even allowed room to move before her limbs were restrained by cold steel.

The chain known as Enkidu was wrapped around her so completely that she immediately lost her footing and toppled to the ground.

As she struggled, she could hear her opponent laughing aloud in victory.

After several agonizing seconds, he turned his attention away from Saber towards the other three.

"What's wrong, Faker? Why are you just standing there? Have you realized how futile it is to resist me, when I am the master of the originals?"

Archer had no response for him. He knew he still couldn't do anything to defend himself, let alone anyone else, and that fact alone was killing him. Twisted as he was, at the core he was still Emiya Shirou, and once again, he was powerless to do anything, not that he needed to be reminded of that fact. The only proof he needed was behind Gilgamesh.

The bloodied corpse of a doll with snowy hair lay on the ground; a flower of crimson seemed to have exploded out of its chest. The missing heart had already been forced into Sakura, whose wails of pain had gone beyond the threshold of sounding human. That amount of pain was inhuman itself.

"Hm? Nothing? Not that it would have mattered what you would have said anyhow. I don't care what a lowlife Faker such as you has to say. You can just disappear!" Gilgamesh shouted as he snapped his fingers, letting about thirty Noble Phantasms fly towards the three.

_BGM Stop_

Archer grunted in pain. He had to call it out. He had to!

**"Rho Aius!"**

The seven-petaled shield took form between himself and Gilgamesh.

And was quickly shattered after the first of the weapons struck it.

But that was to be expected. Because his mind could not focus on Projection, he could not utilize all eight steps of the process.

The rain of death approached, with nothing standing in the way now-

_BGM: THIS ILLUSION (instrumental) - Fate/Stay Night Original Soundtrack_

Than, a similar yet different shield formed in front of him again.

Archer balked in surprise, and finally realized the trick, and he let out a laugh.

"Heh. You certainly took your time getting here, Caster. Jeez, you're such a cheater."

"As if your one to talk, dumbass," she shot back at him with a matching smirk as she stood beside him.

"Now," she said as she focused her eyes on Gilgamesh, "I'll finish this."

The Golden King looked back at her, and burst out laughing once again.

"Ahahaha, hahahahahahahahaha!!! Again, another woman stands in my way?! Do you fools never learn?!" He shouted with what almost sounded like glee as numerous swords appeared from the Gate behind him.

Caster formed the Jeweled Sword in her hand before responding.

"Shut up. I don't care what a mongrol has to say to me."

Gilgamesh's eyes went bloodshot.

"You...impudent woman! I won't even leave the smallest piece of you behind!!" He roared out in a rage.

Caster merely smirked before adding a final barb.

"Impudent? Yeah, that does fit me. I never cared much for being tact anyhow. But you stole my line. You're the one who's not going to have even a single piece of himself left!"


End file.
